Knobbly Love
by writtenby
Summary: Nobles shouldn't fall in love with shoemakers - especially one icy shoemaker that seems to have an affinity for dark, confusing pasts - and especially not when you're engaged to your best friend. lord!lady!au, juvia-centric
1. Chapter 1

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail!  
**title: **love in the air and i don't care  
**summary: **and it all begins with a small shoe shop, because that's really where stories begin really  
**dedication: **to people who think manga are real books because they are. yep  
**notes: **i am attempting a multi-chapter fic. no i am not kidding. yes i am crazy. and no i have never finished a multi-chapter fic that i have started and dont even ask my why cuz i know there are only oneshots on my profile page right now. and this is big, this is hard, i haven't even finished/started the second chapter yet but what the fuck i just want to see how people will receive this chapter since its all a big test. are you interested? if you are, please leave a review or a note or a pm, or even just a favorite or a follow. thanks! this is starting to sound like a cinderella fic, but HOPEFULLY it will not be

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_**warning: this is not a gajeel x juvia, natsu x juvia, lyon x juvia, or a juvia-harem fic. **_

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"He's rich, he's powerful…he's perfect," he said to himself, in the midst of night. "And Juvia knows him. Won't she be happy? We will all be happy," he mused. "Well then!" Then he went off to bed.

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"Oi, brat, we're going to see Lord Lockser tomorrow. Get your clothes ready," Lord Redfox barked at his son.

Gajeel rose from the couch heavily, pulling on his pants in the process. He grunted as he tightened his belt until his pants hung loosely on his sturdy, rock-solid frame.

"Formal wear," Lord Redfox added on a second thought. "We're going to see yer fiancé after all."

Gajeel, halfway done with pulling an undershirt on, suddenly fell backwards onto the couch. "F-Fiancé?!" he sputtered. "I didn't hear a single thing about this, old man!"

He nodded with a shark-toothed grin, "Yeah, we decided it yesterday!"

"Who is this lady anyways?" His eyes widened in understanding. "The water woman? Ya want me to shack up with her?"

"Enough about this, brat, ya know her well 'nuff," Lord Redfox ordered. While they had an easy father-son rapport, his authority was still strong in the household (or more like palace-hold).

He buckled his last buckle and stood up off the couch. "I already have a girlfriend!" but his dad was already out the door.

He sighed and headed up to his room to look at his meager closet and to decide how to break the ugly news to his little girlfriend.

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"Ah-ah-ah!" Erza practiced, stretching her vocal cords. Juvia winced and didn't have the heart (or the nerve) to tell her she was horribly off-tune.

"Erza is good at singing," she complimented, using the nice tone she usually reserved to nobles and officials. On second thought though, maybe singing was the only thing Erza was _bad _at. At nineteen, Erza Scarlet was already a senior general in the army – the only female general in the whole land. Despite her young age, she was a good leader, although harsh, and a great fighter.

Besides, Juvia envied Erza less for her battle experience (there had recently been some strife with the neighboring nomads), and more for her romantic experiences.

At nineteen, Erza already had a forbidden boyfriend.

Okay, maybe he wasn't so "forbidden", but no one knew his name or who he was. Rumors had floated around for a couple of months now that she was engaged to Mystogan, military advisor to the king Makarov, but it seemed unlikely as they interacted only through work and maintained only a professional attitude about them.

And Erza said his name started with "J" like the "J" in "Juvia", and if anything, Erza never lied.

Juvia had never felt this kind of feeling before. Although she had admired boys from afar, she'd never had someone she'd wholeheartedly wished were _hers_. Sometimes she wished her father wasn't Lord Lockser, the one who held the monopoly on ship-building and the fish market. She was getting of marriageable age, and if she didn't find a noble she wanted to marry by…by…by soon, then her father would marry her off to some random guy.

There weren't that many people to choose from in the first place, though. There was Gajeel Redfox, her closest family friend, but that would be just awkward. Then there was Prince Laxus of the Dreyar line, and although her father probably secretly wished she would marry the prince to bring him power and gold, he was mighty scary with that lightning scar. There was also Lord Dragneel's son, Natsu Dragneel, but he was engaged already to Lucy, another friend of Juvia's.

He had pink hair anyways.

She wouldn't like him anyways.

He was engaged to Lucy.

And no, he was _not hot_! At all!

Juvia would never consider _Natsu_…well, maybe a little.

She wasn't allowed to, but a harmless crush couldn't hurt.

Somewhere a piece of glass shattered as Erza's singing reached an all-time high.

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He winced as he stabbed his little finger with the needle. Quickly, his brother shoved a bucket of ice under his nose and he plunged his finger in.

He'd always liked the cold. It soothed him.

He pulled his finger out of the ice and continued working on the shiny new shoe, stitching the last piece together. He shined the shoe with some polish then put it with its right counterpart on the front shelf. A customer entered, and he hastily retreated into the back room to make more shoes. From the front, he could hear Ultear's voice ringing out. "How may I help you?" she chirped.

"A new pair of blue satin slippers for my daughter Juvia!" a booming voice ordered. "The best, if you please."

"Of course! What size are your daughter's feet?" Ultear asked, customer-pleasing grin plastered on her face. It was only a customary question, of course, since Lord Lockser had come to this dainty shop to clothe his daughter's feet since she was just barely a babe. It was lesser-known, but a friend had introduced this shop to the lord, and he found it suited his tastes.

"Why, the smallest size of course! Only for my daughter's dainty feet. Her new fiancé must take one look at these slippers and appreciate how small her feet are," Lord Lockser ordered, hand slamming down on the countertop.

Ultear shoved down her shock and managed to mumble, "F-Fiancé…we will be right with you!" She turned around and yelled, "Lyon, Miss Lockser's shoe size, blue satin slippers!"

"Got it," Lyon said, as he appeared with the right box of shoes. "Here you go, Lord Lockser."

As the large blue haired man exited the shop, Lyon rolled his eyes and wondered, "What does Miss Lockser look like anyways, besides having tiny feet?"

Ultear pointed at the back. "Go, Lyon, don't stink up the front with your presence."

Lyon shuffled off, but stuck his tongue out as Ultear turned around.

From the back, the relentless shuffling of leather didn't stop.

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"Natsu, I want new shoes," Lucy demanded, eyes sparkling with vigor. "You haven't bought me anything for days, at the least."

Natsu counted his savings, "B-But Dad only gives me a couple hundred gold pieces a month and I only have twenty left for this month! Geez, woman, I spend all my money on you."

"Because you love me," Lucy countered, as Natsu's cat purred from by his foot. "Or do you not?"

"Of course Lucy! What d'ya wanna buy?"

"New shoes, I just said, Natsu," Lucy reminded, mouth smiling. "Brown leather sandals to match my eyes."

"I've never bought shoes before," Natsu said, thinking. "Where do people usually buy things, anyway?"

Lucy shrugged. "Let's just look around. There are so many shops I love that it shouldn't be hard to find _something_!" As they strolled out of their mansion, they noticed Lord Lockser jauntily walking into his own, carrying a shoe box. Natsu squinted.

"Look, let's go to…"Ice Make: Shoes"? What kinda stupid name is that? _Ice_? _Ice_?" Natsu protested. "Never mind, let's not go there."

However, Lucy's eyes were already sparkling. "Now I know where Juvia gets those amazing shoes from now! C'mon, Natsu, let's go!" she dragged Natsu off in the direction of the shop, but soon got lost.

By the time they found the shop, a different scene had also arrived at the same destination.

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"Juvia, try on these shoes for Daddy," Lord Lockser cooed to his daughter.

"New shoes, again, Daddy? Juvia already has very many shoes."

"These aren't just any shoes. They're made for your meeting with your fiancé tomorrow!" Lord Lockser squealed like an excited little girl.

"Fiancé? Juvia has a fiancé?" she asked, astounded.

The lord laughed. "Oh yes, your old friend Gajeel. Isn't that nice? You guys are friends anyways, and he's a noble too."

"Ga-Gajeel! Oh no, Juvia cannot marry him!" Juvia sputtered indelicately.

"It's too late!" Lord Lockser all but sang. "I've already agreed to Metalicana's proposal."

"Oh, Daddy, Juvia is sad," she whimpered. She knew about Gajeel's secret girlfriend…

Meanwhile, the lord unwrapped the new shoes and fitted them onto her feet. No matter how he tugged, the back wouldn't slide on right. "That shop!" he raged. "They were the wrong size! I will go back and they better give me all that money back. This will not do to meet your fiancé tomorrow."

They headed off to the shop again – Ice Make: Shoes, Juvia going there for the first time in her life.

After all, their shoes had always been perfect. Now that there was a size discrepancy, Juvia had to tag along to make sure they knew exactly what her size was. In truth, she didn't want to. In truth, she knew she was being silly by not wanting to, because even if she didn't get her slippers, she would still have to marry Gajeel.

That was where it all began.

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**written_by**


	2. Chapter 2

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail.  
**title: **devil's dangerous  
**summary: **countries at war, everything's going down in flames  
**dedication: **mother's day, i guess? since...well...since it's mother's day haha  
**notes: **um so basically this whole thing finally got a plot! yay! and also, don't draw hasty conclusions just yet…there may be a new character in this whole mess…gray is not who you think he is, nor is he who you do not think he is. or could he be? okay, this whole thing is just getting confusing haha but anyways i'll just say not to draw conclusions coz that's a good idea. enjoy! (also Levy will come in the next chapter okay be patient thanks bye) (oh yeah and so will gajeel, he'll have to break the news sometime soon, right? and levy's not gonna be happy haha of course)

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"Oi, kid, get out of my way! My Juvia needs to get her feet fitted," Lord Lockser boomed, shoving aside what he deemed as a random pink haired kid with his golden haired girlfriend. Wait…pink hair…that…was the young Dragneel and his fiancé Miss Heartfilia! "Excuse me," he added as an afterthought.

Juvia trailed meekly behind, casting inconspicuous looks at Natsu. The blue-haired lord marched straight up to the front desk and slammed his hands down. "The shoes I bought today were the wrong size!"

Ultear sweated nervously. "U-Um, are you sure? Our shop has never gotten a wrong size before."

"Are you accusing me of lying?!" Lord Lockser roared.

Ultear shook her head. "I'll let you consult with our shoe expert, Gray. Gray, come out!"

A man with unruly black hair and a frown slouched out of the back room. Upon seeing nobles in the shoe shop, he straightened up somewhat, waved in a somewhat salutatory fashion, then said in a somewhat polite voice, "Hi, 'm Gray."

Juvia looked back and forth between Gray and Natsu, eyes spinning. Unbeknownst to her father, she was shamelessly ogling Gray's handsome face. Her mind compared Gray and Natsu and ultimately decided that Gray was the better one (Natsu had a _fiancé _and Gray didn't; he was single and free) – and once she decided that she really liked someone, she was completely devoted to that person. Her love-muddled mind decided that Lucy was _still _her love rival, although she was engaged.

A Juvia in love was really dangerous.

Meanwhile, Lord Lockser stared at Gray, unimpressed. "Where's the man that brought the shoes? I've got a fishbone to pick with him!"

"O-Oh, Lyon's out collecting the materials. But if you need someone it'll be Gray!" Ultear plastered a cheerful smile on her face, eyes hard.

Gray held out his hand, and Juvia swooned. Gray pushed a hand through his wild hair, and Juvia nearly fell into a dead faint. The lord placed the shoebox in Gray's hand a little harder than usual. Lord Lockser was usually a kind noble, like his title suggested, but Gray was a little too rude for his liking.

"Thanks, Lord Lockser," Gray mumbled as a customary address to a man higher than him, a lowly shoemaker. He looked at it, and turned the shoe over in his hands. Immediately, he realized exactly what was wrong. It wasn't his problem – just that Lord Lockser didn't seem to know how to properly prepare new shoes.

He pulled the paper balls out of the inside that helped the slipper keep its shape and handed the shoes back to the lord. "When you get new shoes, just pull out the stuffing first," he said, baritone voice resonating in the small shop. Juvia's eyes sparkled.

As her dad dragged her out of the shop, her eyes glinted with a hard light and she pointed at Gray while making a small heart.

Even though Gray's back was turned and he was heading back into the back room, he shivered and felt as if a knife was slicing across his back. And it was ice cold.

Normally he loved the cold...but this...this was just insanely scary.

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Lucy walked out of Ice Make: Shoes with a spring to her step and no boxes in her arms. Instead, Natsu groaned as he shouldered all the weight. Lucy called it a punishment for getting into a verbal argument with Gray, the shoemaker, of all people, but Natsu knew he would have to carry the boxes ever since he walked out of the door of their bedroom.

His pocket jingled and he nearly cried. Out of twenty gold pieces, he now only had seven left. Who knew Lucy could buy so many things? He bet that she wasn't even going to wear half of them. "Let's go home, Luce," he sighed in misery.

Unaware to his turmoil, Lucy skipped down the lane to the porch and pulled the double doors open with a flourish. She pulled the bags from him, and with a rare display of her monster-like strength, she lifted them all up the stairs and into their bedroom. Natsu sat downstairs massaging his abused deltoids and biceps. Lucy was strong, he knew that. So why couldn't she carry her own bags? But then again, Natsu did love her, for whatever reason (she's so weird, for one...) and if she _had _to make him carry her bags, then he would.

"Natsu, I'll tell Virgo to make dinner!" Lucy called from upstairs.

Natsu's spirit was abruptly revived. "DINNER!" he cheered, then slouched into the kitchen to grab a few spicy tofu snacks.

"Don't eat anything until dinner's served," Lucy warned, voice echoing down the staircase. "It's not good for you."

Frowning, Natsu slunk back out of the kitchen to settle himself onto the couch and take some well deserved z's.

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Lyon returned to the little shoe shop, carrying bags of leather, string, and other supplies.

Ultear said wryly as he entered, "Well, I guess you missed your chance to see Miss Lockser."

"What? Miss Lockser came by?" Lyon asked, intrigued.

"Oh, yes, her father is somewhat of a blithering idiot."

"Sh, don't say that. Someone might hear," Lyon warned.

Ultear rolled her eyes. "I'm sure Gray agrees."

"Since when has Gray agreed with anything?" Lyon gestured to the back room with amuse.

"I agree with Ultear," Gray called from the back, in order to spite Lyon, and also because it was true.

"He just loves proving me wrong, doesn't he?" Lyon moaned, face twisted in an adorably angered expression.

Ultear nodded, once, twice. "Oh yes, yes he does."

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Throughout the carriage ride home, Juvia was thinking about the handsome man she had seen earlier. _Forget Natsu_! This man was a thousand times hotter, and his icy coldness made him ever so appealing…

Meanwhile, her father was stewing off to the side. How could he have forgotten to remove the stuffing? Maybe he was too excited about the engagement. That had to be it. What more could Juvia want than Gajeel? It was definitely a better alternative to marrying a random noble she had never met before. He was just looking out in her best interests.

Suddenly, he heard a loud bugle sound as the carriage passed by one of the poorer neighborhoods along this road.

"Draft call! All young men under the age of thirty five and over the age of eighteen please report to the post office by eight o'clock next morning!"

Draft? For what war? Lord Lockser thought deeply for a few moments. Oh yes, the war against the neighboring country. The King was a man named Silver, and he was said to be so ruthless that his own children fled the country after his wife was murdered. Their kingdom and this one were fighting over a small strip of one hundred acre land that bordered both their countries.

It was such a small deal, but neither side were willing to give up. The soil was fertile and vegetation abundant; if it was used properly, the land could become a welcome source of crop income in years to pass.

Juvia had heard the draft men calling as well, and her thoughts turned to Gray (finally, she remembered his name!). Was he under eighteen? He was running a shop with his siblings all on his own though, so he could very well be an adult already. What if he went off to war and never came back? Resolve tightened, she decided to make sure he was still there the next day. Her father was to be off at a meeting all afternoon, and she would take that time to travel down to the little shop.

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King Makarov sat on his gold gilded throne in the throne room. His grandson Laxus, whose father Ivan had been exiled years ago, sat next to him, face drawn in a scowl. "How much longer are you going to send men to that tiny little piece of land?!" Laxus roared, angered. "It's not worth it, Grandfather!"

King Makarov shook his head and sighed. His grandson did not yet understand the politics of war, even though he was already seventeen years of age. "Laxus…if we allow them to take that land, what do you think will happen?"

"They can have that thing, and then we'll just live peacefully with the new boundaries," Laxus retorted, face smug. Wasn't peace what his grandfather wanted? Maybe he was getting a little crooked in the head.

"No, no," Makarov said. "Think about it like this. If we give the land to them, they'll think we're weak. And then what will they do? They'll come marching into our country expecting us to hand it over just like we did with that strip of land."

Laxus thought on it for a long while. "You're right, Grandfather. But I still don't like the bloodshed…not as long as I can't get into some of that action."

"No, Laxus. I will not allow you to fight just yet. You are not ready," Makarov said with a firm tone of voice.

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In the neighboring country, some two hundred fifty miles away, the king of that nation was smirking.

"Finally…I'll be reunited with you, my dear son."

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**written_by**


	3. Chapter 3

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail  
**title: **guard let down  
**summary: **demons on the battlefield  
**dedication: **to the two reviewers i love you guys mwahhhh also Disney because guess what i am SO obsessed with Disney songs right now  
**notes: **well this chapter is kind of filler but the beginning is kind of eh. well. sorry for the boring chapter…it was needed. also, i'm a sporadic updater. don't expect too much haha. i have a special plan for that land that they're fighting over. it has its future marked on it already if the countries would just stop fighting over it!

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It was pretty late at night already, yet Gajeel was still preparing to go out. Hastily, he draped a dark heavy cloak around his shoulders, did the clasp, and then pulled his hood up.

The night air was cold, nearly too cold to breathe. The stars hadn't come out yet, and a few traces of the sun still shimmered above the horizon line. He breathed harshly, once, twice, then began to run down the lane and past his mansion's private garden.

Most of the world was safely tucked inside their homes, busy eating dinner; however, Gajeel had finished dinner early by himself and made time to make a quick excursion. He slowed to a stop as he reached the front door of a quaint bookshop. While holding that mystical small-town feel, the shop itself was rather large. _McGarden Books_, it read.

It was a well-known bookshop that collected all volumes, ancient to newly published. It housed many historical artifacts and was nearly as stocked as the federal library up in the royal palace. Yessir, Gajeel was proud of his little shrimp alright. After her father's health began to decline, she began to run the shop mostly on her own. However now, he was a bringer of bad news.

He opened the door and a small bell on a red ribbon jingled somewhere above him. The familiar smell of musty books hit his sensitive nose. Although he'd been pretty disgusted when he first came, now it smelled like comfort to him. Gajeel walked to the front desk and rested his elbows on the surface.

"Shrimp," he whispered crudely. "Shrimp, you here?"

"I'm here!" a voice called from the back, and if he strained, he could see a shock of wavy blue hair in the massive giant of a storage room. "Hello, Gajeel! It's nice to see you again! Wait a minute, I'm almost out!"

Gajeel merely grunted and shifted his weight to his other leg. If she was busy, he wouldn't rush it. He had no want to tell her the news he was bringing anyways.

About two minutes later, Levy rushed out of the back room, hair mussed. "Gajeel!" she said, eyes bright. She rushed towards him and hugged him. Gajeel stiffened but sighed and picked up her, twirling her around in a circle. "So what are you here for? Last I checked you thought all these books would make you throw up your lunch," she teased.

Gajeel's eyes hardened and he decided to just give her the straight truth. "Levy…" he began, and Levy knew it was serious. Gajeel rarely called her Levy. "…I'm gettin' engaged," he ended with.

Levy paused. Her entire being paused. She laughed shakily and said, after a pregnant pause, "I guess we both knew this would happen someday, right?"

Gajeel nodded, but continued. "Yer smart, ain't you? Can't ya think o' some plan?"

"So you're not breaking up with me?" Levy asked, eyes wide. He shook his head. Unknowingly she broke out into a small smile. "I don't have anything right now, but come by when you have time and we can think on it."

"Thanks," Gajeel said, and Levy knew what he meant. _Thanks for understanding_. _Thanks for not getting mad at me_. _Thanks for helping_. _Thanks for loving me_.

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A messenger ran into King Makarov's listening chamber and yelled loudly, without permission. "The Skyrrgian forces have broken through the halfway point!" Because they were fighting over a piece of land, naturally they were fighting on that piece of land. Although it made no sense to fight on a piece of land you were trying to preserve, the countries thought it best to fight there and not on their respective countries.

Makarov's eyes widened. "Send more troops. If we lose the halfway mark as well, we lose the whole war." He wouldn't admit it, but Skyrrgia was a strong proud country with many fine warriors. Instead, he thought of them as a fierce country full of blood-loving savages. "Send out a draft!" he ordered another man.

Laxus nodded. While he didn't particularly agree with the basis of the war itself, he could appreciate fighting and war, especially sending more men, as it proved his country was strong and prosperous. "Let me go," he encouraged his grandfather. "I will fight for Faera as just another proud man." Honor and pride were just as important to him as the next man.

Makarov vehemently refused. "Laxus, you will be the last person I send in. If you die, what do you think will happen?"

Grudgingly, he admitted it. The country would fall into ruin with no heir but his father, Ivan, who had been banished to the country Ravena years earlier. Ivan had tried to take the throne of Faera years earlier. Luckily, his attempt failed and he was banished from the country.

"Very well."

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Erza Scarlet strode down the halls, eyes blazing and armor on. She was preparing to head onto the battlefield with her partner Mystogan. It wasn't partner in the sense of a romantic relationship, but rather a partner in war. By themselves, they were unstoppable. Together, they were invincible.

"Jellal!" she shouted, as she banged the door open to his room in the palace. "Hurry; we are due to depart soon."

Jellal looked up in surprise. As he saw the crimson-haired warrior, his eyes crinkled up in a smile. "Hey, Erza. You know you shouldn't say my name that loud. No one is supposed to know that I am Mystogan."

She stood steadfast by the door and waited as he put on the mask that covered the lower half of his face and put his bandanna on. "Let's go," she ordered, and they exited.

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The battlefield was a complete disaster. Wounded men and women from both sides were wailing in pain, while others were silent in death. Even more were still fighting at the front lines. Without hesitation, Erza and 'Mystogan' spun into battle, knocking down soldiers left and right.

Cries of, "Its Knightwalker and Mystogan!" rang from around them.

To an outsider's eye, they would look like a whirlwind. However, in the mess of limbs, they were soon separated. Even then, they were a force to be reckoned with. Erza easily tore through the entire front line of Skyrrgian troops, while 'Mystogan' wiped out an entire battalion from the back. With the duo on their side, the enemy quickly retreated and the halfway line was won back. Erza and 'Mystogan' retreated into their camp tent and 'Mystogan' quickly removed his mask and became Jellal again.

"They're pretty weak," Jellal concluded. "There's just so many of them. King Silver is choosing to go with quantity instead of quality for now." To them they were like hordes of flies. On the battlefield, there wasn't a consideration for individual lives.

"For now," Erza agreed. "Who knows when he'll send out his troops of well-trained fighters? We can't let our guard down."

"No, we can't," Jellal consented. "But I'm confident we can take them down."

Erza nodded. "We can take them down."

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Juvia sat in the grand dining hall, eating dinner with her family. The long table was nearly completely empty, and the feeling of space gave Juvia a lonely feeling. She'd liked the quaint little shoe shop a lot better. How would it feel if she were living in such a nice cozy family? However, she surmised, she should be lucky to have such a nice home and have such a high status. Compared to a lowly shoemaker…of course she was better! How could she be jealous of a…of a shoe maker?

Angrily, she shoved a piece of boneless fish into her mouth as her mind returned once again to Gray, the handsome shoemaker. Immediately, her pupils exploded into hearts as she closed her eyes and imagined his face.

Never had she thought she would find a commoner attractive but…her obsession now was truly only him. She would have to visit the in-palace body pillow maker soon.

There were some jobs to be done.

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Meanwhile, Silver sat imperiously on his throne. "You mean to say you lost the half line…again?" he asked coolly and condescendingly. "Answer me, Kyouka."

The armored woman kneeling below him nodded and tensed. "Sir Mystogan and Lady Knightwalker were sighted easily destroying our forces, Your Majesty."

Silver shrugged easily, a lazy smirk building on his face. "I guess it can't be helped then. Send Minerva out." Mystogan and Knightwalker were a strong duo well known throughout the lands, even as far as to the northern reaches of Skyrrgia where barely a couple families dared to live. Although it was common knowledge in the Faeran palaces who Knightwalker's true identity was, not a single one of them would tell who she was to any outsiders.

Mystogan was even more discreet. Silver had heard that even most of the palace and court members had no idea who this powerful man was.

However…even more terrifying than this duo, there was Faera's ace. This man was rumored of but never seen, and Faera had never had a need to call upon this man. Silver hadn't even heard of his name before, but rumor had it he was able to break down the mightiest walls with just a single touch.

If this man entered into battle, Silver mused, he might just have to send out his own troop of elite warriors.

Whatever would happen, Silver knew two things.

Firstly, Skyrrgia would come out on top this war.

Second, he would get to see his dearest children again.

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**written_by**


	4. Chapter 4

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail  
**title: **regular old catastrophes  
**summary: **the world's coming down, and it's all on you  
**dedication: **to Friday the 13th, aka today did you know its also a full moon like seriously, did you know its pretty cool. have any of you seen the fault in our stars and maleficent? i just saw them both yesterday and wow, pm me for opinions.  
**notes: **all my chapters up to this point have been 1745 words exactly with author note shit. however, today i'm going up to 2200…hopefully i'll have the motivation. i had extreme writers block…everything was getting stuttered out by my hands…but suddenly i just started writing, and before i knew it, in like ten minutes, i finished around 1300 words. it was strange. but i'm glad, since i really don't feel like writing…i don't even know where all this plot is going haha – hope you guys enjoy this chapter…shit's really hitting the fan…

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It was the next day already, and despite her father's warnings not to get into trouble while he was at his string of meetings, Juvia was already scheming about how to get out of the castle. The sun was barely up, and as her father was at his first meeting of the day, Juvia shrugged on her peacoat and decided to go search for Gray.

She headed for the main family room on the first floor to find her maidservant polishing the furniture. "Kagura, could you get the carriage ready?"

"Where are you going, milady?" Kagura asked, putting down her tablecloth.

"The shoe shop from yesterday," Juvia said, striding out the door. Kagura followed but split off to one side to prepare the carriages, while Juvia took the long path through the garden. By the time she reached the carriage storage, Kagura had the carriage prepared.

Juvia stepped into it, and soon, the familiar rocky gait of the horses lulled her to a gentle peacefulness.

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The sudden halt of the rhythm in which the horses had been trotting brought Juvia to understand that they had finally arrived at the shoe shop. Juvia had specifically ordered that Kagura tell no one, and that she was to go alone, with no servants.

While a regular servant would have been obligated to report everything had Lord Lockser asked, Kagura was Juvia's personal maid, and listened first and foremost to Juvia.

In addition, Kagura had a deep sense of honor and came from a powerful ancient family that used to serve the king as samurais. The samurais were all female.

Kagura therefore also served Juvia as a bodyguard.

As Juvia stepped off of the carriage and sent it away with orders to return an hour later, she looked around and smiled at the sign. It was not a maleficent smile, nor was it altogether happy…it was conniving, yet filled with the most hope ever seen in just one smile. It was the smile of a wild Juvia in love, living in her natural habitat.

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Once in the shop, she met with the fresh face of a white haired man. He was handsome, yet not as handsome as Gray. He obviously heard the bell jingle from beside the door and waved his hand towards the front, not bothering to look up. "Ultear'll be will you soon!" he said roughly. Right as he said so, Ultear hurried out from the back.

"Miss Lockser!" she cried, confused. "Are your shoes not fitting yet again?"

"Oh, no," Juvia said, even as Lyon looked up and his face became pink in an instant. "It's just-" she wondered how to phrase it.

In that moment of hesitation, Lyon had sprung forward. "Miss Lockser," he said, voice suddenly smooth as a well cut diamond. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He took her hand and kissed it. Juvia blushed, unused to such affections from a stranger. Hastily, she pulled her hand away.

Not knowing what else to do, she ignored the strange man in front of her and asked, "Does you know where Gray is? Juvia is looking for Gray." Now it was Ultear's turn to gape in shock. No one had ever come in asking for Gray. "Is he taken by the draft?"

"N-no," Ultear stammered out. "Gray and Lyon here are but sixteen." Juvia sighed in relief. Just as she closed her eyes, they snapped open as she heard a familiar voice.

Her heart beat faster, and her eyes stayed closed. The heat in her face made it clear that she was blushing a bright red.

"She's back?" Gray said sullenly, and Juvia's heart skipped a beat. She heard his feet step lightly over the wooden floor, and her heart skipped another beat. Suddenly, she could not take it any longer.

"GRAY~" she yelled, and flung herself at him. Gray found himself with a lovestruck girl in his arms. Meanwhile, Lyon was stewing by himself all in the corner.

"W-What?" Gray asked, confused.

Ultear only smiled.

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Gajeel could have sworn he saw Juvia walk into the little shoe shop next door when he entered the colossal library just next door. Ignoring the flash of blue curls, he entered. A cool draft hit him as he pulled the doors open, and he sighed in relief. It was summer after all, even if summer in Faera was rather mild.

"Shrimp!" he called into the drafty inside air of the library.

A small figure dashed in front of him and whispered, "Sh! This is a library, Gajeel."

"Oops," Gajeel said, shrugging. He'd always been terrible at keeping his voice down. He picked up his girlfriend and gave her a kiss on the lips. As he set her down, he vaguely registered her voice scolding him with the usual. [_"…this is a library…kiss…not allowed…any public…affection…Gajeel! GAJEEL..."_]

At his name, he looked up to find Levy with her small hands on her hips. He waved his hand to dismiss her nagging, and she merely huffed, used to it, and dragged him into the back room.

Eyebrow raised, he dropped himself onto a trembling chair.

Levy stood up to make it seem like they were around the same height even as he was sitting down. "Down to business! How to get rid of this engagement."

Gajeel yawned. "I don't see how it matters. I get engaged to the water woman, and we can keep on doin' this, right under my old man's nose. He ain't gotta know."

Levy sputtered, "T-T-That's not right! That's like cheating!"

"Like I said, ain't no one gotta know."

"Gajeel, be serious here. If someone finds out, everyone who's involved in this will have their reputation tarnished!" Levy protested.

"What does tarnished mean, eh?"

"Ruined! Blackened! Hurt!" Levy rattled off. "No, Gajeel, let's think of something better."

At this, Gajeel got serious. "Levy, ya gotta understand this. I don't know what ya think of how nobles think, but there ain't no way proud Metalicana Redfox is gonna let his son marry someone not of noble blood."

Levy stood stunned, faced with this harsh truth. They'd both known it all along…Gajeel more so than Levy, but they'd risked this. Levy turned her face downwards and looked at the ground. "We were prepared to lose it all, weren't we?" she asked, voice small. "When we began this, we knew it wouldn't…"

"…last?" Gajeel finished. "No, Levy, we're gonna last…we just gotta find a way to get around this."

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"Well, you got yourself a noble admirer, don't you there, Gray?" Ultear asked him for the umpteenth time, as the four of them sat around in the back room, trying to extricate Juvia from Gray.

"Juvia is so happy that Gray is not over eighteen!" Juvia squealed exultantly. Lyon sulked harder.

"What about me?" Lyon asked, hopeful. Although he used to make fun of the girl, now that he'd truly seen her, he was enchanted by her beauty and naivety.

"Who are you?"

"…nevermindme," Lyon mumbled back, disheartened. Ultear laughed, a high clear laugh.

She patted Lyon on the back. "Oh, Lyon, you'll find a girl who'll actually love you someday," she reassured. He didn't look convinced.

In the past, Lyon had pursued another girl, who'd eventually left him for Gray. What was so good about Gray anyways? He'd never figure it out. And here he was losing who he was sure was the love of his life to Gray. Again.

Meanwhile, Gray himself was certainly not enjoying this. He didn't particularly like girls hanging onto him, although he acknowledged his own good looks. He often spoke his sentiments about his charm aloud to Lyon specifically to make fun of him, although what he'd never say was that Lyon himself was quite handsome as well.

Gray was just handsomer. ("Gray is so handsome!" Juvia squealed. Gray winced.)

And there was no possible way to fix that.

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Erza and Jellal arrived in front of the king Makarov.

"You two have done well," Makarov said, voice joyful. "We have pushed back the Skyrrgian forces to past the half way line again. If this continues, we could win the war!"

The two bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty," they spoke in unison. "We will serve you with our utmost power."

Makarov dismissed them, and they exited the throne room. Once in the hall, they looked at each other and communicated without talking, then wandered off to their respective rooms.

Erza changed out of her armor and sat down on her bed to think. What was the point of this war? It was both pointless and meaningful…but Makarov seemed to think that the meaningful outweighed the pointlessness. She couldn't say she agreed.

However, what she did agree with Makarov on was that Silver was a force that needed to be stopped. Given the chance, Silver would happily raze over any land that lied in his way, even allies. It wasn't that easy though…

Near midnight that day, as she exited Jellal's room hastily dressed, she saw a shadow moving along the walls.

With a battle cry and no fear for her own safety, she ran towards it and threw her right fist forward with all the power she could muster. While the mysterious person was stalled, she ran back into Jellal's room and roused him. He donned his armor and ran out, but by that time, the person was gone.

No doubt that figure was sent to assassinate Jellal, as his room was the only one down this hallway. And if Jellal was being targeted like that, it meant that the assassin knew exactly who Jellal was.

There was one more thing: it was highly likely that Erza was also a target then, and even more likely that the mastermind behind this puppet also knew the identity of herself.

And if this mastermind knew these identities…then he or she must have either worked in the king's palace as a close advisor in the past, or was working as one right this moment.

All of this led to only one conclusion: they weren't safe behind their walls anymore. Not a single one of them.

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Upon further contemplation, Erza realized something that made the situation even worse than it already was.

If Erza had been seen by this figure exiting Jellal's room, he or she would certainly expect them to be in some relationship. Up until now, their relationship had been completely secret.

If it were to be exposed that two strictly work related people were in a relationship, and who these two people were…the citizens and workers would lose their faith in the two.

It was dangerous that the mastermind knew both their identities and their relationship. If both got out, Erza could only think of the worst that could happen. Of course, there may be better situations, but this still could not be allowed to happen; if it did happen, the most horrifying outcome could equal a huge chance for Skyrrgia and Silver.

The collapse of Faera and peoples' trust in the court.

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**notes2: **okay so yes, it was implied that jellal and erza had sex, which they did, and _erza is on birth control don't worry guys i'm not planning on pregnancies messing anything up _and basically what i'm trying to say is _no, i don't write lemons nor am i planning to _because i'm still way too young to even attempt that (actually i have a shitload of reasons like: i don't really read lemons, i don't even know how to write one, i don't _want _to write one, i'm too young like i said, and i would be destroyed by my parental units if they found out, and ew i'm still a young not so innocent child [i'm not breaking any rules if you wanted to know])

**written_by**


	5. Chapter 5

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail.  
**dedication: **the stars in the sky and the dew on the grass. of course, though water, ever water. ignore me. i'm perfectly fine i'm fine i'm fine. yeah. I NEED PHOTOSHOP. PHOTOSHOP DAMMIT. . AH  
**title: **clicking off  
**summary: **when everything's going wrong, maybe something can go right.  
**notes: **i hate hate hate writer's block, i swear. i had 1000 words done right after i posted the fourth chapter, then i just got stuck. i was like "dude it looks like i wrote a lot" but in fact it wasn't anything at all…this chapter…yeah, no conclusions, again, i'm really warping everything. i tried to include a bit more light hearted shit but it didn't work out…please tell me if i'm doing something wrong, i'll try and fix it. cause hey, you guys probably know more than i do about writing.

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All too soon, a rattle and a grinding noise outside the shoe shop alerted Juvia that her carriage had arrived, just on time. Of course Kagura would never be late, only punctual. That was her nature as a warrior.

Reluctantly, Juvia parted from Gray, memorizing his body proportions as she went in order to report them to her body pillow maker. She nearly giggled out loud as she recalled her silly little crush on Natsu. Ha! Natsu was nothing compared to Gray.

And then there was Lucy. She had been Juvia's love rival before; she'd do anything to get in Juvia's way of love! Juvia's mind twisted in a hundred different ways to get to Gray first, before Lucy did. There was no way Juvia would let Love Rival beat her in love. Except…that Lucy already had a fiancé. That was no matter. Juvia was already convinced that Lucy wanted to steal Gray from her.

"Bye bye Gray!" Juvia called back to her love. In her vision, all she could see was him. In her vision, he looked as if he were pained to be parted from her. In her vision, Gray was all too deeply in love with her already.

In everyone else's vision, they saw Gray's pained look as a sign that Juvia had broken one too many ribs with her crushing hug. They saw Lyon rush to send her out, except the fact that Juvia had eyes only for Gray. Lyon was brushed aside again.

Only Ultear remained unscathed in the duration of Juvia's visit. "Goodbye, Miss Lockser," she replied cheerfully, the only one out of the trio of shoemakers who could speak.

Out of instinct however, the traumatized boys and Ultear chorused in unison, then promptly looked absolutely horrified.

"We hope you visit again."

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"Oh yes, Juvia will," she smiled and closed her eyes as the rocking of the carriage lulled her back to peacefulness.

Back at her mansion, she decided it was time for a visit to her favorite body pillow maker. On her way to the office, she realized that she first needed a sketch of the person she wished to make a body pillow of, in that pose. In a rush, she hurried back out to the carriages and arranged another visit to the shoe shop.

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After the trio slowly regained their sanity and returned to work, the door suddenly flew open again.

Ultear heard her before she saw her.

"GRRRRAY~!" Juvia yelled, startling the people on the street who were walking by. She speed-walked up to Ultear and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Where's Gray? Excuse me, but where's Gray? Can you tell me where Gray is? I need to make a body pillow of him and-"

"Calm down Miss Lockser. Gray's in the back, as usual," Ultear replied. Juvia then walked right past Ultear, ignoring her, and went straight to the back room. "H-Hold up, customers are not authorized to enter the back room!" Ultear called after her, but Juvia didn't listen. Ultear sighed, and made an exception.

By the time Ultear had entered the room, Juvia was already beginning to mumble incoherently. Gray was already stunned into a statue. Juvia was arranging his limbs this way and that way, and Gray mouthed to Ultear something like, "Save me!" Luckily Lyon wasn't here. He'd throw a fit. He was still taking a shit in the-

-speak of the fucking devil! Lyon appeared. "Hey Ultear, you're supposed to be at the front…J-Juvia?"

"Hey, be respectful."

As usual, no one listened to Ultear.

Juvia got a few good sketches in of Gray in various poses, all the while Gray was still stunned into obedience. He regained movement after Juvia backed off. Immediately, he half tripped into the corner.

All the while, Lyon was fussing around Juvia and trying to pose for her, to no avail. She merely brushed him off as if he was a fly. Seeing that made Ultear feel doubly sorry for Lyon, but at the same time, it was amusing.

As Juvia strode out the door with promises to return again for Gray, they finally all slumped to the floor, exhausted. "Please…_don't_…return…again…" Gray mumbled, while Lyon sulked in his own corner.

Ultear stood up, with the full intent of ruining their lives further.

Winking, Ultear pointed at Gray. "So, what did you think of Miss Lockser?" Lyon opened his mouth to speak, and promptly shut it again, turning a flustered pink. "Not you, Lyon. I asked Gray."

"She's clingy."

"HOW-"

"Lyon."

"Pfft."

"DON'T-"

"LYON."

"Pfft."

"GRAY."

Ultear promptly sent Lyon and Gray into the back room to work out their 'differences' while she herself lounged around the front desk. Business was slow today, anyways. While she knew that it was absolutely hilarious to watch Gray and Lyon flounder under the attention and inattentions respectively of Miss Lockser, she also knew that it was wrong to let it go on.

A noblewoman becoming close friends with shoemakers? Impossible. She was being a bit of a hypocrite, seeing as…well, she was friends with a noble. However, their friendship was completely secret and wouldn't get out. Who could trust a young sixteen year old girl in love like Miss Lockser?

Ultear could bring up the trio's past, but she wanted to bury that in the background…it contained too much pain…too many bad memories. It was something she'd rather keep locked up in the back of her mind. She was sure Gray and Lyon felt that way too, especially Gray.

She could find no good way to tell Miss Lockser not to come back, seeing as the blue haired girl was so devoted to Gray [why, she would never know] [Gray was an always sullen, always downcast man who enjoyed making fun of other people to make his day] [in addition to making fun and making his own day, he also made shoes, if you didn't know]. Ehem. Bad jokes aside, Ultear could see it in Juvia's eyes. She was…unstoppable when devoted.

It seemed like she'd have to make a call to two certain people.

She sat down and penned two separate letters, then sent them off to their daily mail spot.

_Dear Jellal and Meredy…_

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Erza now deigned to hang a list of names across her bed, so that when she woke up every day, she could stare at the list of people. She wished to cross out one name per day, and narrow it down as much as she could.

She would start from the top and prove that they weren't traitors, until she found one person that was the traitor. And if none of them were, it meant they were ex-members of the court who had been exiled. The only two known exiled members of the court to this day were Ivan Dreyar and Hades Purehito. They were probably more likely to be the ones who had targeted them, but Erza needed to make sure she wasn't living among a spy.

Consequences would be absolutely dire if everything about them was reported to King Silver...it could even result in a full-scale attack of Faera and the collapse of the kingdom. Silver was a ruthless king next to Makarov, Erza knew it, and she absolutely couldn't let this happen.

Today she was going to begin with…Evergreen.

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Evergreen woke up with a large sharp sword pointed at her neck, and a dark figure looming over her with the curtains drawn [for effect] and the nightlight turned off [for effect].

"RAPE! RAPE!" she managed out before her mouth was muffled by an armored hand.

"Sh, don't make a ruckus," a familiar voice spoke from atop her.

Evergreen tried to gape, unsuccessfully, beneath Erza's hand. "Er-Erza?" What she'd like to ask was why Erza was barging into her room at such a late hour, but unfortunately she could barely get her syllables out.

Suddenly, Erza's grip turned harsh and her voice colder. "I know you know who we are. I know who you are. I want you to know that I know exactly what you're plotting." She removed her hand to give Evergreen a chance to speak. If Evergreen said anything to arouse her suspicion, Erza would arrest her immediately.

"How did you find out?" Evergreen's eyes widened in shock. She didn't think anyone would find out, but…! Erza was a keen one.

"So it was you…" Erza mused. "I should just kill you here and now."

"W-What does our plan to make Laxus fall in love with Mirajane have to do with you?" Evergreen suddenly burst out in a fit of fear and outrage. "Are you in love with Laxus?"

Erza recoiled. Two seconds later, she was gone, and Evergreen was left wondering if it had all been a dream. If it were not…

…Evergreen clenched her fist. If it were so, she could not, under any circumstances, let Erza's crush on Laxus go on!

Meanwhile, back in the safety of her own room, Erza crossed out Evergreen's name and sighed deeply.

Maybe she should go warn Laxus…or even Mirajane, of their impending future as husband and wife. On second thought, maybe not, but she still felt sorry for them.

When Evergreen was determined…well, she was determined.

Almost as determined as Natsu with a chicken leg.

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Laxus sat in an in-palace restaurant with Mirajane the next morning. He liked to call it a friendly outing [or inning, as it was inside of the palace], but he knew if Evergreen, or any of the Raijinshuu, for that matter, caught him with Mira, they would assume it was a date.

He donned a pair of sunglasses as if they would help conceal him.

"Evergreen, Fried, and Bixlow have been missing all morning," he rolled his eyes and grumbled. "And I'd wanted to spar with Fried today, too."

Mira laughed, a light tinkling laugh. "Be patient, Prince Laxus. I'm sure they'll show up."

"I hope soon," Laxus retorted.

"I do too, for your sake."

The food arrived, and as all palace commodities were, it was delicious. Laxus soon forgot about his mischievous trio of followers and focused on Mira and the food instead.

She was pretty, with blue eyes and white hair. She didn't look old, just fresh and exotic. Laxus had always admired how beautiful she was, but he'd never had even the slightest chance to feel anything for her. With the war going on...

...well, it certainly felt nice to unwind and relax with her once in awhile. Even if he didn't see her romantically ("...yet," Evergreen said in the back of his mind.), they were at least very good childhood friends.

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Silver narrowed his eyes at the figure in front of him. He did not trust the person cloaked in black, although this person was most likely his best chance at attaining information.

This figure came to him with promises of information about the inner workings of the castle, but only if Silver gave him lodgings and refugee fit for a prince after his final goal, enough money to last a lifetime, and the capture of Prince Laxus, as well as his execution.

Silver called his advisors into council and debated with them for a long time.

"Very well," he said. "Please share your information, while my servants will prepare your new household."

"What about Prince Laxus?" the person said, voice smooth and low.

"My top advisors will discuss on how to best capture him. That being said, it's your turn to speak and uphold _your_ end of the deal. So tell me, spy, what do you have to tell me?"

The person cleared his or her throat and began. "I cannot tell you everything I know yet, as my usefulness will decline otherwise, however, I can tell you things about Knightwalker and Mystogan."

Silver leaned forward, eagerly, awaiting the words that would provide him with a host of information.

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**written_by**


	6. Chapter 6

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail  
**title: **give me some of you  
**summary: **i want to be of use to you; use me.  
**dedication: **to my most amazing supportive friend. cuz i gained 3 seconds :3 wow i can't do this backstroke thing  
**notes: **hehe you'll see. this is mostly my ramblings about things and less about the actual story now haha. im actually writing this in the library since i have to go back to the pool for finals later on today therefore its not worth the long drive home haha wow so basic summary of this chapter because that summary up there is UTTER BS juvia meets gajeel. she talks about gray and stuff. laxus is like OH NOES MY BED and something is like YAH LET ME KILL YOU and erza is like CX LAXUS hahahah yup ENJOy!

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Juvia happily skipped off the carriage and into her mansion. Today had gone surprisingly well for her, and she was in a good mood.

Juvia then commissioned the body pillow maker with making a pillow of one of her better sketches of Gray. Once done, she returned to her room to find Kagura waiting for her in front of the door. "Hello, Kagura," she greeted her.

"Greetings, Miss Lockser. I am here to inform you that in an hour, your father will be back to escort you to welcome Lord Metalicana Redfox and his son Gajeel Redfox."

Juvia gaped in shock. She'd forgotten all about that! At once her mood fell. Pushing Kagura aside with a small apology, she ran into her room and began fussing around, looking for clothes, brushing her hair, and thinking about how she was going to get around this. For now, she'd have to pretend to go along with it. She needed Gajeel's cooperation too. She'd have to speak with him alone.

Quickly, she called her other maids and they helped her pick out clothing, get dressed, get made up, and style her hair. By the time her father arrived, she was completely ready to greet the nobles.

Her father and she proceeded to head outside to the gates, where they could watch for the elegant carriage that would mean the arrival of the Redfoxes. As they waited, Juvia gazed absentmindedly at the gardens.

They were truly beautiful, as expected of Lord Lockser and his wife's tastes. They were boisterous yet elegant; the couple had a taste in designing and beauty. The entire garden seemed like a painting. It was perfection in its mix of colors and scents. In addition, the duo had clearly thought about what flowers they would want, instead of leaving the poor gardener to figure out what exactly his masters wanted to have.

The herbalist and the perfume-makers both had a wide variety of herbs and flower to choose from, as well as small trees. The Locksers had thought in advance of what plants would be the most useful. In addition, they thought it wise that Juvia had some skill in these areas, and once she had turned old enough, she began brewing perfume and mixing herbs.

She was a good nurse, although she rarely had to use her own skills unless she had to patch herself up so that the doctors and herbalists would not report her trouble to her father. And even then, Juvia rarely got herself hurt. When she was tired, she also rarely needed to eat things to energize her – all she had to do was drink water. In that way, she was similar to a plant. It was almost amusing.

In any case, it was clear she had a slight affinity for water. Juvia enjoyed swimming a lot, anyways, and she got a lot of practice. She didn't have anyone to race, but it was fun floating in the pool by herself, as well as practicing her different strokes. Personally, she loved butterfly – its rhythm and grace enraptured her.

"Lord Redfox! Why, how do you do?" her father boomed, snapping her out of her reverie.

"Good, good. And you?" the metal studded man said back at the same tone of voice. Juvia had an urge to cover her ears. She looked up, ready to roll her eyes, when aforementioned eyes landed on her 'fiancé'. _Ah_. She blushed a deep red and scooted back several steps, waving her hands as if trying to tell her that it wasn't her idea at all. While the parents were busy exchanging pleasantries, Juvia meekly stepped up to Gajeel.

"So, ah, how's Levy?" Immediately after she said it, she gasped and covered her mouth. What an inappropriate question to ask!

But Gajeel only sighed, in a show of maturity. "Good, I guess. We're still tryna find a way to get around this whole thing. But ya know, she's not a noble so…" he let his dismal thought trail off into the air.

"Would it help if Juvia visited her? Since Gajeel does not have the brains to help her." Gajeel rolled his eyes and mussed up her hair. She pouted. It'd taken her hairdresser awhile to fix her hair, since she'd been out playing the whole morning.

"Maybe," he conceded. "I'll come over after lunch tomorrow to pick ya up. D'ya have anyone that we need ta talk to too?"

"W-Well," she shifted from foot to foot. She didn't know if she could call Gray hers yet… "There's someone Juvia wants Gajeel to meet, but Juvia doesn't know if…" she let Gajeel figure out the rest. Despite the bad jokes she cracked about his brains, Gajeel was relatively intelligent. He just didn't like the show it. His image in front of most was of a big brute. It was partly why he had so many conflicts with Natsu, who was just as, if more violently loud.

"Who is this guy you're talkin' about?" Gajeel asked, face ready for whoever new Juvia had set her eyes on.

Juvia looked up at Gajeel. "Well, he's not a noble, and he works at a shoe shop."

Gajeel raised an eyebrow. "So yer in the same situation as me."

"Yeah," Juvia nodded furiously.

"Whaddaya like about him?"

"He's very solemn and quiet all the time, but he has an inner strength too. He carries himself proudly, but he slouches. His eyes are pained but he has learned to push that aside…to move on. He's funny too, in a strange way. He's quiet and sarcastic, but it makes Juvia laugh. He has a nice family and he's skilled. And Gray's looks, they're–"

"–SO HIS NAME IS GRAY THANKS YOU CAN STOP RIGHT NOW," Gajeel cut her off. He knew that if he even let Juvia start on his looks, there would be no end. Besides, the parents were coming over.

"…how is Lady Lockser? Still feverish?" Lord Redfox inquired, unnaturally polite as compared to when he spoke to Gajeel.

"Yes; she became feverish perhaps a week ago, so I'm hoping that it will be over soon. And what of Lady Redfox?"

Lord Redfox rolled his eyes. "That crazy lady spends all her time in the house cooking and trying out new dishes. And she can cook about as well as Gajeel can sing. Not very good, mind you."

"Hey, old ma– um, Father, I can sing better than yer–uh, your old throat can," Gajeel boasted. "I can sing some right here, right now–"

"–NO!" all three of them sans Gajeel shouted. In varying tones of voice, the three individually apologized to him.

Gajeel merely shrugged. "Your loss."

They all shared a laugh.

Lord Lockser looked at the sky. "Oh my, we've wasted quite a bit of time out here. Let's go in and discuss the terms of the engagement."

Gajeel and Juvia looked at each other, gulped, then headed inside after the two lords.

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Laxus stretched his arms above his head. They'd both returned to their respective rooms after the lunch. He shifted on the bed, and it creaked.

His bed never creaked. He was a prince; his bed did not creak. He looked under it, but saw nothing. He only shrugged and shifted again.

The bed didn't creak again, so he let it go.

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The palace was said to have cream interiors, so he'd dressed all in tan today. He nearly cursed as he hit his head on the wooden boards beneath the bed. It creaked. He could only hope that Prince Laxus's bed usually creaked all the time. He didn't think so, but it was worth a try.

Quickly, he scrambled out from beneath the bed and clung to the side of the bed, holding his body horizontally. Laxus's head came back up and he sighed in relief, then dropped back beneath the bed. He just needed to wait until the time was right to strike. In his left hand, he held poison. In the right he held a dagger.

He anointed the dagger with the poison and waited in silence.

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Erza didn't for a second doubt Prince Laxus, but she had thought of him after Evergreen when writing her list, so it was time to test him. As she stopped outside his door, she heard his bed creak. Wait, the Prince's bed was…creaking? This was highly suspicious.

Although it was difficult to suspect a Crown Prince, she had to make sure he was not plotting anything, especially anything to do with the innocence (or complete lack of innocence) of her ally and friend Mirajane Strauss.

She barged in, to find Prince Laxus reclining on his bed, and a moving tan thing under it. Hastily, she backed out again. "I AM SORRY PRINCE LAXUS I WILL KNOCK NEXT TIME PLEASE FORGIVE ME."

She heard, "It's okay, just come in. What do you need, Erza?"

"You should be more formal," she scolded as she entered.

"Aw, c'mon. We've been friends since childhood." Erza scoffed. "Okay, there were a few breaks of friendship." Erza glared at him. "Fine, fine, Lady Scarlet."

She nodded approvingly. "I need to, ah, cross-examine you. Anything you conceded in the cross examination is binding, alright?"

"Did my grandfather set you up to this?"

"Um, ah, that's right, so respond with utmost honesty!"

"Seriously, that old man…subjecting me to questioning," Laxus muttered. "So, what's your first question?"

Underneath the bed, the tan thing stilled from his poison-applying and listened with eager interest. If he was of more use than the weird spy with the mole (…or was it tattoo? he couldn't remember) from the Faera court, then maybe he could gain the favor of King Silver.

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King Silver sat in his throne, musing over the new information. "Erza Scarlet, and Jellal Fernandes…what good would this information do me?" he thought. Could there be a way to use this information to bring down the court? There probably was, but it was still lost to him. There had to be more information so that there was a faster way to defeat the opposing country.

The strip of land was fertile. It was worth the little peasants he sent down to fight for it. It had an abundance of fruit trees along with strong, good, timber trees. It also had rich soil and large plains for animals to graze on. In total, it was as big as his estate.

However, one could not underestimate the size of his palace and all the nature surrounding it. His gardens were not built for beauty, but for use. They were filled with the most vicious plants that his herbalists had discovered contained the most precious grains of cures. His gardeners had to wear full body protection armor to even enter these gardens, but as long as they got the job done, Silver didn't care what happened to them.

Peasants were peasants after all. The only people on this earth who were not peasants were himself, and those useful to him. He could be extremely favorable to those he liked. In that way, Silver was a generous man with extreme mercurial temperament.

Rising from his throne, he ignored the protests of his guards (his strength was enough to defeat all of them; he could more than protect himself) and walked out of the regal double doors. He strode down the hallways and arrived at a heavily padlocked room. He didn't even bother to take out the key from where it was in his pocket. It had not seen daylight for five years, and he wasn't planning on taking it out.

He knew what was inside. He'd built it with his own hands, nail by nail, tear by tear. It housed treasures more precious than any of his crown jewels.

"Ur…" he murmured quietly. "What do I do? Everyone…is gone." He left his head hang and stared down at the ground. It was smooth white marble, the color of her skin.

One by one, the tears began to fall.


	7. Chapter 7

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail.  
**title: **remembrance  
**summary: **the pieces will fall until they find their places.  
**dedication: **this is to the person who decided that crew practice would be erging without shoes; thank you for my blisters. this is _also _to my former math teacher, who is the best math teacher, _ever_, except i don't know that many math teachers yet, and i hope i never do.  
**notes: **my life has been like a complete drama right now my friendships are shifting left and right, school's just started, my friends are being completely awkward assholes but they're still my friends and-… that being said, i apologize for being slow…gone most of august and i didn't have my laptop or any electronics so yeah. this chapter was less writer-blocked than the last one, perhaps bc i avoided talking about erza laxus and the court bc i donut have a plan with that. this chapter was a lot easier to write, i wrote it in 3-4 days that were stretched out in a month and a half. heh, sorry. enjoy.

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The four headed into a small conference like room. Even so, it was tastefully lavished with shades of blue that usually weren't seen on a drab office floor. The light colors made the sunlight filtering in from the large window dance on the wall and the deep colors held a tone that provided balance and calm.

A circular table sat directly in the middle of this room, shining oak wood and recently polished. Large sheets of paper had been placed in the middle along with a basket of markers, for creative displays.

They were sitting around the table when Lord Lockser began to speak. "I don't really see what's so hard about this whole engagement thing. In a month, you're getting married to Mister Redfox. On this day." His tone held finality and joy. It was a perfect engagement to him, at least. The two knew each other well and would not be wholly unhappy with this arrangement, as Juvia would tend to be if she were in an engagement to a stranger. In addition, Juvia had no love interest that he knew of, and neither did Gajeel as Lord Redfox had informed him. Their families would join, and although Juvia was to take on the Redfox name, there was still time to have a son. If the families did end up joining under the Redfox name, then at least all that were interested would be doubly rich and wealthy.

Juvia's eyes filled with dismay. A month? That wasn't much time at all. "Father, it's the middle of a war. Maybe it isn't the best time to have a wedding…"

"God knows we need some happiness in the middle of the glory and gore that is war," Lord Lockser retorted, tone final. "The wedding will be next month."

Lord Redfox yawned. "That sure was easier than I expected. Gotta train my brat to be a perfect gentleman now."

The other lord puffed out his chest. "My Juvia's been learning to be a lady since she was born, isn't that right, Juvia?"

"Yes, Father," Juvia replied with lackluster.

Lord Redfox rolled his eyes. "Then I'll be giving this brat of mine to your daughter, seeing how capable she is."

Lord Lockser nodded wisely. "That's right," he replied. "A mighty good choice, that is."

Gajeel, who'd stayed silent during the entire conversation, finally spoke up. "Ya sure we can't make it later?"

His father eyed him with a serious look. "What has been said is final." Gajeel was used to joking around with his old man, but when his dad got serious, Gajeel always listened. They might be friends, but ultimately his father held authority over him.

So instead of lashing back, all Gajeel did was sulk in silence.

In an effort to break the awkward silence, Lord Lockser spoke up with his booming voice. "Well then, seems like there wasn't much to discuss! Onto the details of the party."

"A party?" Juvia gasped.

Her father smiled indulgently. "Yes, an engagement party, perhaps in the next week or two. Anyone is invited, noble or peasant! It will be a grand affair."

Juvia's mind flickered to Gray as fast as Gajeel's immediately thought of Levy. However, both of them realized that it might not be appropriate to invite their love interests to their _engagement _party. Still, they couldn't shake the thought of attending a lavish ball with their loved ones. Levy would definitely understand, but Juvia couldn't figure out how to convince the shoemaker family to attend.

It would _definitely _sound weird if she barged in and told them to attend her engagement party, and it would make Gray mad to find out that she was cheating on him. She would have to word her invitation delicately.

As the lords began to talk and eat snacks placed on the table by the servants, the teens shot each other a secretive look.

Knowing that their parents were preoccupied, they hatched a plan to get out of earshot. It was less of a plan than taking advantage of an age-old trick.

"Bathroom," Gajeel grunted, then slipped out. Two minutes later, Juvia followed. Their fathers just nodded absentmindedly and continued to chat.

As soon as they were out of the adults' hearing distance, Juvia began to squeal quietly. "What shall Juvia do? How does Juvia get Gray to come to the party? Why is it so soon? What choices does Juvia have? What is Gajeel going to do?" The sharp edge of her heeled shoe chafed off some of the blue paint on the tiled floor.

"Calm down, water woman," Gajeel hushed her. There was silence for all of two seconds. "Levy…" he signed and rested his head in his hands. "I need someone with an extraordinarily smart brain right now." One of the many reasons he loved Levy was because he wasn't smart enough to think up of half of the things Levy did.

"For now Juvia and Gajeel should head back," Juvia cautioned, looking around worriedly. "It has been a long time for a bathroom break."

In order not to rouse suspicion, Gajeel went in first, and Juvia, after steadying her fast beating heart, followed five minutes later.

"Ah, yer both back," Lord Redfox said, after several minutes of the two being utterly ignored. "We were planning the engagement party to be in ten days," he announced, rather abruptly.

Lord Lockser, the more creative and light-hearted one of the two friends, asked, "What theme shall it be? I was thinking of fish-"

"-all yer parties have been fish-themed," Lord Redfox growled, rolling his eyes. "How about evil robots?"

"They're both silly!" Juvia finally cried up. "Let's have shoes."

"Are ya outta yer mind?" Gajeel asked, astonished. "Shoes? War and swords and knights would obviously be the better choice."

"Now, now, kids," Lord Lockser interrupted with a compromising tone. "How about knights in shoes that eat fish and battle evil robots?"

The four looked at each other. "Perfect!" they exclaimed, all at the same time.

"Of course the color shall be blue," Lord Lockser stated haughtily. The other three knew that there was no way to combat the lord on this topic, and agreed heartily. After all, agreeing happily was better than conceding unhappily. "Light blue, cyan, aquamarine, royal blue, navy blue, phthalo blue, robin's egg blue, all the shades of blue!"

Juvia's eyes sparkled, imagining a ballroom decked in blue, with floating lights and a giant stage. Then, she remembered what this event was all about. It was about her "happy" engagement to a man who she didn't love – a man who had a girlfriend. The thought of Gray caused her to fall deeper in distress.

How was she to solve these problems within ten days?

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A young squire dashed into Silver's throne room, and fell to the ground before him. The cold granite was hard and unforgiving, and his blisters from long, hard travel ached. The cool tile was a relief to him, however, as it faded, his panic rose. "De…lio…ra," he panted out, face drawn. Sweat dripped down his brow, not from exhaustion, but from fear.

Silver raised one thin eyebrow. "Say that again?"

"Deliora, Your Majesty! Delio-"

"Did you say Deliora?" Silver asked, at once alarmed, for once. He stood up from his throne, knuckles white against the arm of his throne. He bit his bottom lip, a habit he did when he was nervous – which he wasn't much anymore. It was too human, but with news about Deliora, maybe he had reason to worry.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Deliora."

"What happened?" Silver ordered, more than asked. He approached the squire. On appearance he was calm, but any issue involving Deliora was huge. Deliora was the most infamous assassin in Skyrrgia. Needless to say, he also the best, deadliest, and intelligent assassin alive.

Ten years ago, they had finally captured him alive – at the cost of a life that had perhaps changed the entire future of the country under Silver's rule. The criminal was imprisoned and sent to labor, instead of death. Silver wanted to make sure he would feel as much pain as he had inflicted, and death was not the way to do it.

There was no point in torturing Deliora – he always worked alone, without an employer. He murdered for the thrill of the scent of death; he killed for his own sick fantasy.

"Deliora has escaped from his prison at Núrdov," the squire finally squeezed out, much too slowly for Silver's comfort.

"What?!" he roared, teeth clenched in anger. "Those foolish guards. Bring me them and replace them. Send the kin after Deliora at once!" Silver rattled off a series of orders, which the squire relayed to the messenger. Although it was not his place to question the king's orders, the squire could not help but be surprised.

Silver was sending the Seven Kin of Purgatory, which he had not done in over seven years, ever since two of the seven had defected. One of them had been his daughter. The loss of his own daughter caused him to put the kin on hold until a crisis arose. The squire assumed that the escape of Deliora was perhaps this crisis.

The other one who had defected was a petite girl. She had considered Silver's daughter as a mentor or even a mother, and was said to have followed her around like a puppy. In general, the public thought badly of her, as it would not do to think badly of the king's daughter, and it would not do to not think badly about a defection.

The kin were made up of five people now – their strength was magnificent, said to rival even Knightwalker and Mystogan. He had heard that one of them could control the trees and nature (he had never seen magic used, as was common of the country's regular population), and another could control humans, and that another could use fire to his will – fire that was said to be a million times stronger than any regular fire.

His thoughts were put to hold as he felt a maleficent force behind him. He turned to see Silver approaching, with a definite look that told him he had been dismissed a long, long time ago. Spinning on his heel hastily, he hurried and scampered out of the room.

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In the safety of his own room, Gray slid off his shirt and stood with his back to the mirror. Twisting his neck around to look at the reflection of himself, he studied the faded crisscross scars on his back. They seemed old and faded to a regular passerby, but to him, they reminded him of his past just as freshly as they did the day he got them.

He let his finger run over one of them and he shivered. Gray was not one to feel cold, but the shivers that ran up his spine were usual whenever he felt the thick scarred skin beneath his fingers.

"Gray? Lyon has brought more supplies – you can start working again. We're almost out of size six for women for ballroom slippers – seems word's gotten out about some lavish ball somewhere that no one really knows about – Gray?"

The interruption was welcome relief as he slipped his shirt back on and went on downstairs to work on what he chose to do for a living. As he walked through the doorway, he nearly straightened up and timed his steps, but at the last moment, he remembered, and continued to shuffle along and slouch.

Ballroom slippers, size six. He paused, and jerked back as his hand disobeyed his thoughts.

Then, he shrugged. Why not? She was bound to get new slippers anyways, and the color was blue.

He finished stitching the letter J onto the sole, then moved onto the letter U.

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**written_by**


	8. Chapter 8

**disclaimer: **i don't own ft  
**title: **party-crashers  
**summary: **two countries at war, and it only gets worse  
**dedication: **to _catherine _for dealing with my troubles and all my ranting and maybe we should just slice up an elk and eat it...and i'm guessing no one really knows what i'm talking about either, well, we're in the same boat, neither do i...but seriously, thanks for dealing w/me, i guess it's kinda hard sometimes  
**notes: **i'm having trouble with the erza laxus interrogation thing – maybe i should just ship them ehh jellal can go … somewhere but the thing is the seven kin of purgatory and the demon gates just clash i don't think i'll put the demon gates in there, such a ripoff of rave i swear and but ;A; ;A; ;A; i can't _think _it took so long to write this chapter i lit wrote half of it around half a month ago, and here i am scrambling to finish it ahh h i always do this XD

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The interrogation was really just filled with pointless questioning that seemed to have an ulterior motive. A lot of it seemed to be about Mira, and Laxus couldn't figure the hell out why.

Erza was sweating. She didn't know how to directly approach Laxus about the spy thing, so she figured she might as well aid Evergreen in her plan. There would be no harm, and maybe she could get a little more out of Evergreen. The two _did _suit each other.

Suddenly, she paused in her questions. Laxus kept on rambling.

"…Mira and I are just friends, okay? You can stop asking about it – I mean, we go out to lunch sometimes but, –hey, Erza, are you listening?"

"Ah, yeah," Erza mumbled. Her countenance turned serious. "Where were you the last few nights?"

"Sleeping?" Laxus replied, a little confused. His bed creaked again. Maybe he should've gotten it checked out before Erza barged in.

"Where were you at _midnight_, then?" Erza probed.

He rolled his eyes, exasperated. "Last night I was wandering around with Bixlow, trying to find Fried. We never found him." Erza put that down as a note in her mind.

"Thank you, that's all," she said, standing up, bowing, then exiting as Laxus gave a weary wave. He laid back down on his bed and half groaned.

"What a pain in the ass."

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The tan thing slipped out the window – nothing new had been gained today. At first it had seemed like a treasure trove of information, but it had turned out that all Scarlet had been interested in was the Crown Prince's relationship with the white haired model girl.

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Erza crossed out Laxus's name.

Later, she'd go for Lord Dragneel. The Dragneel name was a noble name because the line descended from a series of men who had always fought for the king as his trusted knight. Lord Dragneel was currently the representative of the Dragneel family. While Lord Lockser did not have to fight, if serious times arose, they would have to send a representative as well. This was because they were a merchant noble family and therefore were not called upon to fight as their duty. All children of the nobles were trained in a family magic, but none had really been in a serious battle.

Lord Dragneel was kind and warm, but Erza had to try.

However, she'd wait until after the mysterious party she had heard was coming up. If there truly was one, then preparations would have to be made and she could possibly have to go out on the battlefield to make up for the losses of the knights who attended the party instead – after noble parties were not to be taken lightly, even if a war was still raging.

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"Gray!" Juvia called as she skipped in the door. She had to appear happy as she told him about her engagement party. Happy…happy…happy. She schooled her face rigidly into a sharp smile. "Juvia is inviting her dearest Gray to a party."

Ultear wearily stood aside and let her voice soar into the backroom. She was used to this by now.

Lyon poked his head into all the noise. "A party? Is fair Juvia inviting me?"

Juvia ignored him.

"Gray!" she called again, and this time his head turned. Juvia abruptly swooned. It wasn't her fault that he was born with such good looks. It was nearly illegal. He seemed so regal, so elegant, so refined, yet his slouch gave off an air of defiance that definitely suited her tastes.

"What party?" he asked, semi-interested.

Upon seeing his interest somewhat piqued, Juvia told him again. "It's an engagement party at the palace. Just show up at the door and tell them Gray's name, and Gray will get in – it's open to the public, but only the invited public can go."

"Who's engagement party?" Ultear wondered. Juvia fidgeted, unwilling to explain the truth.

_'Oh well_,' she thought. _'I'll just tell him later.' _She shrugged. "No one of importance. All three – Gray, Ultear, and Lyon – are invited! Make sure to come."

Gray opened his mouth, about to respond, but Lyon, fearing that he was to say no, responded for him instead. "Of course we'll come. Rest assured." He smiled something dazzling at her, letting sparkles drift out of his mouth. She took no notice, her gaze trained on Gray.

"Wonderful," Juvia exclaimed, eyes a little brighter. "Thanks!"

"No problem," Ultear said. "I think Gray has a little something for you." At this, Gray shot a glare at her. Sighing, he retrieved the shoebox.

"Here ya go." He handed her the shoebox. Size Six, it read on the side. Juvia received the present, holding it carefully as if it were a fragile vase.

"Juvia is going to wait until home to open Gray's present, but Juvia is very happy!" Her eyes sparkled like the sea on a sunny day. Lyon swooned, much like Juvia when she encountered Gray.

She nearly skipped out the door but remembered to tell them one last thing.

"Remember, it's next week on Monday at five."

They nodded, looking pleased. "We hope you come again." Then it was just horror.

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"Deliora has escaped capture again, Your Majesty," a different squire reported to Silver. Silver clenched his teeth and swung his sword at anyone who got too close. The sharp end of his blade clipped the squire on the cheek, who fell back, nursing a small cut on his right cheek.

"Details!" he roared at the squire.

"I-I don't know, Your Majesty – ask Zancrow – he's in the infirmary," the squire babbled and hurried away, hoping to escape before Silver's wrath truly exploded. Silver let out an inhuman howl of rage and threw his sword to the ground, letting the heavy pommel crash onto the marble floor. Immediately, the servants came forward to inspect damage and repair the floor.

Silver strode out, brows creased. He had not visited the infirmary for a long time. He had never cared what happened to the peasants who fought for him. He no longer knew where the room was. Grabbing a maid by the arm and thus scaring the shit out of her, he questioned as to where the infirmary was.

Trembling, she pointed down the hall and said in a quiet voice, "To the left, and first door on your right, Your Majesty."

"Speak up!" he roared, face harsh. A vein pulsed on his forehead and he gripped her arm hard enough to bruise. She took a few deep breaths that seemed inundated with the tears that wanted to come. "Are you fucking stupid–"

"To the left, and first door on your right!" the maid yelled before letting her whole face crumple in terrified tears. He let her go, leaving her crumpled on the floor. Her coworkers picked her up and soothed her while Silver strode down the hall, heart still raging.

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Upon seeing Zancrow bandaged up and lying on the white infirmary bed, Silver reached out and let his anger flare again. "What are you doing on that fucking bed?" he boomed, grabbing Zancrow's mane of blonde and dragging him up out of bed. The machines beeped with alarms but he swung his other fist into them and they silenced with a dull emptiness that made the whole room ring with silence.

Zancrow winced. He once was proud, but was humbled before Silver's anger. "You're not…not supposed to do that," he said, weakly gesturing towards the machines. "All the nurses will come running."

"That's good," Silver snarled. "They'll need to once I'm done with you. Start talking."

Zancrow let out an unaudible sigh. "Deliora did this." He pointed at himself.

"Obviously." Silver rolled his eyes. "Tell me how he defeated you. And by Skyrrgia, have some shame. You are one of the Kin and yet you were defeated."

Zancrow continued, "He is a top rate assassin. I can't defeat him if he can dodge every bit of fire I can throw at him. Deliora isn't like a shadow, he _is _the shadow. People compare him to the mythological monster he named himself after, but I'm starting to think he's scarier. Nothing's worse than one that hides and tricks and blends in…nothing, not even a giant raging beast like Deliora's name once signified."

"Were you able to get even one hit on him?" Silver asked, almost curious now, rather than mad.

"Just one, at the very beginning, when I was at full power," Zancrow said, tired from being lifted up into the air with all his wounds. Silver dropped him onto his bed.

"So you're saying that I should send someone that could kill or capture him in one hit…" Silver murmured. "Goodbye Zancrow, I have someone to meet."

Zancrow wearily waved. The nurses began rushing in just as Silver left, and the door clanged behind him, leaving a silence that was not broken by the babbling of the nurses.

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"Where is Kain Hikaru? Bring me him," Silver ordered.

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Makarov rolled his eyes. He was a jovial old man, but this was a little stretching it. "You want me to take resources and spend them on your little engagement party and not on the war? Do you know how many people we're losing in the war each minute?"

"Uh…three?" Lord Lockser asked cautiously.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter," Makarov muttered. "My point is, we don't have time to spend on this. Right Erza?" he consulted the red haired woman besides him.

Erza knew how much Juvia loved romance and how much she wanted a lavish wedding. She couldn't break Juvia's heart, even if she didn't know who Juvia would be marrying and whether or not it was an arranged marriage. "Right," she coughed. "Except it would be great to have some pomp while the war is going on, just so everyone could feel a little more uplifted. Besides, this is a perfect time. Skyrrgian forces are slowly becoming more lax, as I hear there's a national crisis going on in their country. We can afford to spend a little on this. Besides, I'm expecting to hear that Lord Lockser will pay for most of the expenses, am I right?"

"Yes," he replied, nodding slowly. "All I'm wishing for is that King Makarov will bless the union and lend us his ballroom."

Makarov considered it. "If that's all it is…"

"That is all it is," Lord Lockser hastily reassured. "That's all I want."

"If that's all it is…then go ahead, be my guest. Your wish has been granted." There was no need to deny it, of course. It would be better to get this over with while both were of marriageable age and while the war was still manageable - while the war was still in it's early stages, where all it needed was for Erza to arrive on the battlefield and the battle would be won.

"Thank you King Makarov," Lord Lockser cheered and bowed happily. It was too early to display much happiness, but he would tell everyone else the good news when he got home. "Your kindness knows no bounds."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the king said lazily. "Where's my midday meal? And by Faera, where the hell is Laxus? He's been gone all day."

With that, Lord Lockser was excused.

"I believe that the Prince is in his room," Erza casually addressed the king. "Although I also believe it may not be in your best interest to retrieve him as he is resting."

Makarov sighed, rubbing a hand over the creases on his forehead, smoothing them. "Alrighty, then. Erza, make sure no one gets in here for the next two hours. I'm going to have some alone time."

Erza nodded, bowed, and then left the throne room. The king was left to his silence.

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**written_by**


	9. Chapter 9

**disclaimer: **i don't own ft  
**title: **lady with the eyes like the sea  
**summary: **let's be honest with ourselves today  
**dedication: **to my crew coach for an amazing fall season! and to my swimming coach for being a swimming coach…swimmers know what i mean -_- "no air breaks" "can i go to the bathroom" "no"  
**notes: **i love myself for finishing this on Halloween AKA before i lose the rest of my free time AKA i am not gonna write fanfiction in November so i needed to finish this before November…the next post may take longer than a month (by the way, this is really good for me *sweatdrops* i tried a long chapter fic once upon a time with 5k words per chapter and i pretty much quit after two and a half chapters that spanned like 6 months)  
this is a longer chapter than normal and enjoy!

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Skyrrgia's forces remained lax as Deliora continued to be free. Lord Lockser rejoiced, along with the rest of Faera, as it meant the engagement party would go on.

All of the decorations had been set up the days before, so on the day of the party itself, the only trouble was laying out fresh food, last minute revisions, and dressing up. The servants were let off their duty to attend the party once it began, as it was completely self-serve, and they had pulled some money out of their pay to buy expensive outfits.

This was Lord Lockser's doing. He was a fine lord and always wished the best for his servants. When they heard that there was to be a party, they knew first of all that it would be self-serve and that they would get the time to participate, and second of all their pay would be raised before it so they would have a little money to spend on things they wanted to buy for it.

However, before the party, two maids furious prepared Juvia for her big day. It wasn't yet the "big" day, but for them, it was big enough. Meanwhile, Juvia looked forlornly at the mirror with big doe eyes, still trying to think of a way to get out of it. Her hair was twisted and curled and pinned to her head, leaving her with a delicate, complicated bun on her head and tendrils of hair framing her face. The hairstyle was somewhat reminiscent of Layla Heartfilia, Lucy's deceased mother.

Her earrings were blue, and her dress was a white silk gown, fading into blue in certain specially designed parts. It was sleeveless, with a baby blue ribbon wrapped around her waist, neckline low and full-length to her feet and even trailing when she walked.

It would certainly be hard to dance in, especially with Gray. She intended only to dance with Gray, in fact. She looked at her face in the mirror again and sighed. She knew she had to give the first and last dance to Gajeel.

However, there was a chance that Gray would be instantly smitten with her beautified looks and immediately devote all of his dances to her. As she thought about this, a white haired boy immediately came to mind. _'Lyon?! Why am I thinking of him?' _She tried thinking about it a bit more, connecting a few arrows here and there and creating a whole chart in her head, but the whole thing combusted. _'Oh whatever – it does not matter who likes who as long as Gray loves me,' _she swooned.

His lovely face appeared in her mind, and she nearly ruined her hair and makeup whilst rubbing her face in an attempt to get that bright tomato red _off_.

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The invited townspeople. Most hoped to be able to enjoy the full length of the party before they had to return to their normal, drab, lifestyles. In wishes that the guards would let them in a little early, they ganged up in front of the door. However, not only did the doors not open, but the guards pushed them back a little.

"Can't wait until we're off duty," one of them sighed.

"I can't believe we're the only ones who have to work today in the entire castle. Why'd you sign me up for this?"

"For Juvia."

"Right. I'd rather have liked to see who the young bloke is that she's getting married to."

"I've heard its Mister Redfox."

The second guard scratched his head in confusion. "You mean that long hair wild studded boy?"

"Precisely. Always thought they were siblings with how much they were together when they were little, but if you think about it, it's a mighty fine match."

"Don't you think that that Heartfilia daughter should trade places with Juvia?"

"No! That's the most disgusting thing I've ever heard. How would Juvia, as the sea, be able to deal with that pyro – I mean, Mister Dragneel?"

"Dunno. I guess you're right."

"I guess I'm right, too."

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Little did the guards know, that very pyro was two stories above them, sneaking into the party early along with Lucy, Laxus, Fried, Mirajane, and Evergreen. He didn't know how he'd convinced Laxus and his posse to come with him, but he'd done it.

He'd done the impossible – convince the Crown Prince to embark on one of his many schemes. He stole a look at Lucy, hoping that they didn't become bored. Natsu hated when people got bored on his expeditions. As he climbed over the window and looked around, he rubbed the good luck matches in his pocket. He didn't need matches for fire, but they helped, if he was out of magic.

Lucy glanced at him questioningly and he gave her a thumbs up. _All-clear_. The rest of them climbed in after them. The room was a bedroom, tastefully decorated with a few simple things…until one got to the punk band posters and iron pieces just sitting around. "This must be…for Gajeel," Lucy surmised. "I'm surprised he's coming to live with the Locksers. Lord Redfox sounds like the type to make Juvia stay with them."

"Perhaps he's just looking for some peace and quiet with that metal headed idiot out of his house," Laxus snorted. "And his awful singing."

Natsu sniggered behind his hand as he recalled Gajeel's singing. No doubt it'd be put under display today, at the party.

Evergreen sniffed lightly. "When he pulls out that guitar of his, I will be in the bathroom."

Mirajane laughed, a strangely low, guttural one. "As will I."

Laxus sighed loudly, as if he _really _didn't want to. "Then I guess it means that Fried and I will be there as well."

Fried frowned slightly, but no one noticed it. "Very well," he inclined his head. "I will join Prince Laxus in the lavatory then. Why don't you check it out first?"

"I might as well go while the party isn't yet in full swing." Shrugging, Laxus headed off to the bathroom while the rest continued on.

They walked out of the room and downstairs, bursting into the empty ballroom with a flourish. "Why isn't anyone here?" Natsu questioned.

"I don't know," Fried replied. "I wonder why? But this ballroom sure is nice…with all the colors of the – sea."

On his last word, the floor opened up and swallowed them whole, just as Laxus came down the stairs.

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The time for the party to begin had finally arrived. People flooded in, and Gray found himself swept along in the wave of people. Lyon was the one who had wanted to come early, like everyone else who was invited, except Gray.

He wondered why there were so many people to begin with, when it was invitation only, but then he realized that the infamous Dragneel son had been allowed to do invitations and had probably invited every first person he saw on the streets. "Tch," he clicked his tongue aloud, in open disgust of Dragneel. A real man should fight with ice, cool and composed, rather than fire, which was unpredictable and wild.

He was led into the ballroom with the help of the people around him, namely Lyon and Ultear who were pushing him along. Where was Dragneel anyways? He heard a pounding below his feet, but chalked that up to the amount of people in the ballroom.

Suddenly, the room quieted and the music stopped as Laxus burst into the room, breathing heavily. "Mirajane and the rest of them…they're under the floor!" People stared incredulously, then began laughing as they registered what he had said. "I'm serious," Laxus said, but soon realized that it may have been a trap of Lockser's to stop anyone from getting in early – probably something Juvia had predicted would happen, due to Natsu's prankster nature.

He shrugged. Laxus enjoyed shrugging. His powerful shoulders were very good at shrugging, especially at his father. Well, it would certainly teach the brats a lesson. But he'd have to ask if not order Lord Lockser to let Mirajane out – after all, it wouldn't do to have an annoyingly clingy woman as his dance partner.

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After an hour, Laxus had been unsuccessful in finding either Lord Lockser, Juvia, or any of their servants or family.

There were just so many goddamn people. Really, they should have curbed Natsu a little after they figured he was going rampant on the invites. Laxus grunted as his wide shoulders knocked into someone else – someone else dressed in peasant dress clothes – and looked down on a mop of unruly black hair.

The hair lifted and he saw a face. "Silv–" he paused. No, he was most definitely not Silver. Silver was older, with streaks of his namesake threading through his raven hair. Silver had his hair slicked back and would have no reason to be here.

The man stiffened and turned away. "Don't say that name in my presence," he hissed, sharp enough for Laxus to hear just as he turned heel and strode into the mass of people.

Laxus snorted. There was no reason to say Silver's name in a night of festivities. He'd heard of citizens who were annoyed by the war and blamed it all on Skyrrgia, but had never met one in person. There were a variety of opinions out there. Some of them wanted peace, for Faera to give up the land; some people wanted to overwhelm Skyrrgia and take over, and others wanted to split the land in half. Him, he just wanted to fight.

However, he was confused. The way the man had phrased his sentence - first of all, it was incredibly rude and Laxus could probably find a million reasons to execute him already if he were into killing his own citizens, and second of all, it almost, almost sounded like the man knew Silver…personally.

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"We would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone here. We hope that you all are enjoying the party!" The crowd roared in approval. The food was good, and several romances had gone off since the beginning. Natsu and Co. hadn't been sighted as of yet, but no one worried. There were many hours yet to go. They still had a lot to enjoy if they burst out a while later.

Juvia had spent the majority of the first two hours hurriedly talking to Gajeel in the corner, as well as Levy, who they had found by targeting the shortest person in the crowd with bright blue hair. She was also busy scanning for Gray, but due to his average height and average looking black hair, he disappeared easily into the throngs of people. Anyone who asked her to dance was promptly refused. She had two crises.

First, she was going to be engaged after today.

Second, she _still _couldn't find Gray, and she _had _to dance with him or she might explode.

"Now, the real reason we are having this party is to announce something very important," Lord Lockser continued. "The engagement of my own daughter, Juvia Lockser, and Lord Redfox's son, Gajeel Redfox!" A wave of gossip and a smattering of applause followed that, as people whispered in astonishment. Some people were clearly in approval, while others were merely shocked, and still others were outright in disapproval.

However, it was a great party, and it really was none of their business who the nobles married. The crowd burst into full applause, finally, and Lord Lockser gave off a smile.

"Now, we would like to welcome Crown Prince Laxus Dreyar to give his blessings to the newly engaged couple!"

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Gray was front row, stage left. A low gasp ripped its way out of his throat as he heard the news, but he composed himself quickly and settled into a usual scowl, perhaps darker than normal.

He'd even sewn the very shoes on her feet, just so she could waltz off into the sunset. So was Juvia lying all this time? He wasn't oblivious. He'd always noticed the glances she'd give him and the twiddling of her fingers every time she neared him. It just showed that it was more than a puppy love, something Gray honestly respected in Juvia.

So – was she lying?

Did she mean everything she'd said to him, all the glances she'd given him, all the love she'd gifted him? Was he just some random peasant who she'd noticed one day and bestowed a vague thought on? Who was Gajeel to her? Was it by choice or by arrangement? He no longer knew anything anymore. The people began to mill around in nervous excitement, awaiting Prince Laxus, but he wasn't interested in listening to a speech from the man who'd almost said a name he never wanted to hear again.

He pushed through the crowd. "Lyon!" he called. He buried his feelings down where it didn't hurt and yelled Lyon's name again, until he found the white haired man, slumped against the corner, infinitely braver than Gray for being willing to express his feelings before it was too late.

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**written_by**


	10. Chapter 10

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail.  
**title: **onstage  
**summary: **let's all be psychos  
**dedication: **lol myself jk probably my friend's mom for bringing those amazing chocolate chip cookies i ate two of them then distanced myself from them so i wouldn't gulp the entire bag down, but i ended up eating one more because i won a rock paper scissors match with my friend and damn those were good cookies  
**notes: **i needed to end it because i didn't want to write anymore also writing is a lot harder now that my muse is sleeping from nanowrimo exhaustion so cut me some slack if this chapter sucks honestly i don't ever go back and edit my chapters…..i write them in an hour to three hours and then post them as soon as im done. i finished 5 min ago

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There was an explosion first, and an outcry second. Then, the outcry turned into laughter as Laxus staggered onstage, steadying himself and wiping invisible sweat from his brow. Then, there was another explosion. This time, people began screaming. Black-garbed guards herded them from inside the ballroom to out as fast as they could, but the majority was still stuck inside when the third explosion went off.

Laxus, onstage, looked around hurriedly at who was around him. The only magic users were the Locksers, himself, and…that was it. Damn, he'd forgotten about the rest of the magic users all trapped underneath the floor. He needed them now more than ever.

"You have to open up the floor," he ordered Lord Lockser. He knew for a fact that the daughter was the only one truly gifted with her magic. They would be of more use freeing up the others. Against these hidden enemies, their power would be more useful than ever. No one ever fought against Mira and _lived_. That was part of what he respected about her - that strength and yet the modesty and kindness of her usual persona.

"What floor?" Lord Lockser asked, face confused. "What is going on, even?"

"The floor. The one that collapsed and trapped everyone underneath it." A powerful boom shook the floor, but there wasn't a white-plumed explosion cloud. Among the screaming and running and escaping, Laxus could clearly tell it was still coming from beneath his feet.

He walked offstage, leaving the Locksers to figure it out, then punched the floor with lightning. He grunted as he continued to force his power upon the floor and saw it begin to cave – and then felt his magic power being drained away by the floor. As his power left him, so did consciousness. His vision blurred then disappeared.

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"Shit," the blue-haired lord swore under his breath. He had no idea what was going on. With a sigh of relief, he saw a familiar red headed figure charge into the room.

"Just exactly _what_," she fumed. "Is going on here, Lord Lockser? Why is the Crown Prince unconscious on the floor? We could hear those booms all the way from the main castle."

"I don't know!" he cried. "I did not plan this."

Her eyes narrowed and she whipped around, but the people approaching her were not dangerous figures. Gajeel, Juvia, and three commoners she didn't know.

"Who are you?" she demanded of the commoners.

"I'm Gray, and this is my brother Lyon," he replied.

"And I'm Ultear," the woman with the long black hair introduced herself.

"Gray _what_," said Erza impatiently, tapping her foot against the floor.

"Fullbuster."

"If I may interrupt," Lord Lockser cut in. "Before Laxus went down, he did say that the rest of the magic users were trapped underneath the floor." By now, everyone else had filtered out of the ballroom aside from the people currently standing here.

At this, Erza summoned a sword from her vast treasuries of armor and weapons and struck the floor. But as soon as the blade hit the floor, she retracted it again. "This floor drains magic power." She hit it again, harder. "The more force you use, the faster it's drained. No wonder Laxus collapsed so quickly."

Looking around, Lord Lockser called for backup guards. "Take Crown Prince Laxus to a bed where he can rest." Unfortunately for the guards, branches twisted up their form and strangled them before they could even move.

Juvia gaped. "Wh-wha…" Gajeel stepped in front of her protectively, a move that did not go unnoticed by the Ice trio, who adopted their own fighting stances. Erza was already on guard, looking around for the perpetrator.

"Not so soon," a deep voice drawled from the doorway. All eyes and heads turned as a tall, broad man with thick dark hair strolled into the no longer festive ballroom almost casually, as if he wasn't looking for a battle at all. No one noticed as the three shoemakers froze upon hearing the voice and quickly slipped into a nearby hallway, out of sight.

"Azuma," pronounced Erza quietly. "One of the Seven Kin."

"Glad you know my name," he said, smiling, not with malice, but just with the grin of a warrior looking for a good, honorable fight. "I'm here to take Laxus, but seeing as you are probably less than willing to give him to me for free, how about I win it with a fight? Erza Scarlet…or rather, Knightwalker – care to battle?"

"How do you know who I am?" Erza snarled, backing away.

"You're holding a sword. Scarlet hair." Azuma shrugged, not giving away any information on a spy. Damn, she'd been careless, too worried about the Prince on the floor than concealing her identity. Then she could only assume that the dark figure that night had been one of Silver's. Erza decided not to tell him – if he didn't already know, that the floor drained enery; as she watched astounded, a branch twisted into the doorway and onto the floor, yet he didn't seem drained. Did he set this? If so, she was at a ridiculous disadvantage.

Quickly, she ex-quipped into her standard armor, not noticing the way the nobles' mouths gaped open in shock. Lord Lockser and the Lady realized there was nothing much they could do here except avoid the fight, and quickly retreated, taking Juvia with them. Juvia, however, struggled. She wanted to stay and watch – she wanted to help Erza and Gajeel, who was getting into a fighting stance. But one look from Erza silenced her.

"This is my fight," Erza told them. "Leave if you do not wish to be crushed under the debris." Gajeel and Juvia took their leave as well. Azuma was already twisting roots and branches across the ceiling and walls so that they'd hold for as long as their battle.

Erza quickly moved Laxus' body to where the shoemakers were hiding, in the hallway, and left him with them.

Then the fight began.

Several shoots of wood twisted everywhere, batting at the scarlet haired warrior and nearly destroying the elaborately decorated stage. Erza dodged them all with her armor of speed on, leaping nimbly and sonically fast from branch to fast, landing faster than he could track and departing quicker than he could retract the branches.

In surprise yet respect of her speed, Azuma increased the velocity at which the branches were flying, especially those above in order to force Erza to land on the floor. Every time she did so, she lost magic power, because she was literally cloaked in it as her armor. It worked. Erza lost her power, growing slower and slower.

She ex-quipped into the Purgatory Armor, that which was strongest and no one had ever lived to see twice. With a smirk, Azuma easily broke through the armor, knocking her backwards with a branch and many others after that, launching her across the room. And all the while, he'd never moved, but the ballroom was a forest what with the looping branches and trees sprouting everywhere. Finally, his vines and branch-ropes caught up to Erza and trapped her onto one lone branch.

Both out of power and out of ways out, she racked her brain for one last chance. And it came to her surprisingly fast and sudden, too. The floor. It wasn't covered with branches in order to sap her strength. All she had to do was…

Struggling through the branches that were holding her down, she ex-quipped into her flight armor and flew around the room, lightly tapping down on the floor in order to not lose that much magic power. Her plan worked like a dream. Although she was already exhausted, she found the strength in her welling up at the thought of the Skyrrgia winning and taking away her friends – or rather, family. Azuma, trying to hold her down, smash branches down beside her, following her speed but never surpassing it and never catching up to her.

The floor, unsupported by branches, collapsed under the weight and caved in, leading to one very rambunctious figure nearly shooting out of the rubble.

"I'm all fired up!" Natsu. Erza smirked in victory as she saw Mira, too. She knew Mira was invited but never saw her, and had only concluded she was in there with Natsu. Mira was one of the strongest people she knew.

"The floor drains magic power," Erza shouted down. "The enemy is the man with the black hair over there," she said, pointing to Azuma, alighting on a branch. The opponent realized he was outnumbered.

Fighting Mira's Satan Soul was not something that you lived through, and he could sense the power radiating off of her. "Damn," he muttered. "This was supposed to be a respectable, honorable, solo fight. Where's your honor?" he called up to Erza.

"My honor is with my friends," she replied, gesturing at them – Natsu with his flaming fists, Mira in her demon form, Fried with his hooded cloak on and quill ready, Lucy with her keys, and Evergreen who was lifting her glasses with a delicate finger.

"We'll see how many of your friends are actual _friends_," he sneered, then took a step backward as if he'd just realized that he had given away a piece of crucial information. Then he spun on his heel, walked out the door, and promptly disappeared. When Erza alighted on the floor, she realized that the properties of the magical draining floor had been destroyed when she tore a hole through it.

Laxus was beginning to come to inside the hallway, and immediately, the entire group went in to check on them.

"You got them out," he croaked weakly as he stared up at the people crowding around him.

"Yes," Erza said simply, then helped him up.

Gray stared at the crowd but could not find the two he was looking for. "Where're Gajeel and Juvia?" he asked quietly.

"And who are you?" Natsu replied rudely. "Oh, that's right. You're that shoemaker."

"Lyon and I are ice mages, and Ultear is a mage of many different sorts of magic," Gray explained, ignoring Natsu. Erza seemed shocked that commoners knew magic, but that sort of thing wasn't uncommon anymore after so many books on magic became available and those with innate power weren't only born in the court.

"Ice mages!" Natsu exclaimed in protest.

"Fire mage," Gray grumbled back, glaring at him. Ultear hit him on the head, and he shut up.

Gajeel and the Locksers ran back into the ballroom, stopping at the doorway when they realized that there were huge branches, vines, and leaves running everywhere.

"I think we should just demolish this whole thing and start over," said Lord Lockser ruefully. "I don't think there's a chance of saving it now."

Juvia, on the other hand, had eyes only for Gray. He wasn't looking at her, but it was taking a lot of his willpower. Fortunately for her, her sight found another distraction. Lucy was running towards her.

"Juvia!" she cried and enveloped her in a huge hug. "You didn't tell me you were engaged," she scolded. "And to Gajeel, no less."

Gajeel shrugged. "Nothing to go around saying," he rumbled.

It was the first time Gray had heard his rival speak. Although he did not have any feelings for Juvia, he still considered any contenders for Juvia's love as his rival. He wasn't used to sharing, nor did he particular like sharing. Then, he stared in confusion as Gajeel picked up a piece of iron furnishing that had been torn off the demolished stage, chewed it, then swallowed it.

He looked around and no one else looked bewildered. Lyon and Ultear hadn't even seen the event.

"Gajeel!" Juvia reprimanded. "Gajeel cannot just go around eating metal off the floor."

"Yeah, Metal-Head," Natsu jeered and then freaked out when Erza's glare landed on him. Gray didn't blame him. Erza was one scary lady.

"_Why_ is he eating iron?" Gray muttered, loud enough so everyone could hear him.

Lucy, the blond haired woman with a huge chest turned around to face him. "Ancient Dragon Slaying magic," she replied. "Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy have it, along with a couple other dragonslayers from other countries."

Gray looked around for a would-be Wendy, but couldn't find one.

"She's sick," Lucy added. "And she is having trouble healing herself, so we told her to stay in bed."

Accepting the answer, he melted back into the shadow of the hallway and watched the bored group of people. Most, like himself, were leaning against the ruins and being bored, but others were talking to each other animatedly. Lady Lockser was sending a messenger to her architect to build a new ballroom, while the lord was hurriedly giving apologies to the general public on the flawed state of affairs. Laxus chatted to Mira, and Natsu was having a glare war with Lucy, who thought he should've been a little nicer.

So while the others talked, Gray kept his gaze on Juvia – and more importantly, Gajeel.

Gray didn't take well to the long haired brute of a man…but yet he couldn't do anything about it.

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**written_by**


	11. Chapter 11

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail  
**title: **failure  
**summary: **when all else fails, think of water…then think of me  
**dedication: **my dad for letting me dye my hair bright pink and my mom for not freaking out over it  
**notes: **i'm leaving for china in 3 hours fuck yeah also i've been binge re-eat-ading (so many puns in that one word like come on, binge eater, the re from Tokyo ghoul:re and reading because that's what the original meaning is) Tokyo ghoul. also i appreciate arima but he needs to die? crazy kaneki was cool. polite kaneki as cool. happy, fluffy kaneki is a fake shit. honestly though i hated centipede cause the mask that uta made him was so cool and he couldn't use it when he was centipede…also touka's hair what even happened to it? okay and i just tokyo ghoul is so good so obsessed life is so good when you're obsessed it's just very very very very good  
i'm in spanish class  
sue me

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Silver was not happy.

Of course, that was an understatement. There were many, many things that made him extremely angry, and combined, that made for a terrifying and corrupt king.

First of all, Deliora was still running free, as Kain Hikaru had been found passed out in a bar with alcohol poisoning, and had to be treated and freed of the sickness for at least a couple days. Although the fatty couldn't match up to Deliora at all in terms of combat, it was true that he was the only one who could render Deliora disabled with just one touch. All he had to do was pull out a piece of the assassin's hair (if he was bald, he had to at least have eyebrow hair or something!) and stick it onto his puppet; Deliora would then be completely under his control. But the stupid fatass's inability to live a week without getting drunk proved to be the anger that resided in the creases of Silver's brow.

Second of all, his spy from Faera was missing. He'd left to attend some engagement party, which Silver later found out was the exact same that he'd sent Azuma to crash, leaving a note that said he'd be apparently "missed" if he didn't attend. That was true, Silver supposed, what with people probably searching for the spy by now in the Faera courts, but it didn't make the truth any less bitter. After Kain's failure as a person, Silver needed a cheer-me-up in the form of more information on his worst enemies (of the moment). The king was the type of person who had few true enemies, but a lot of people who called him their enemy; Makarov was someone he could call a real enemy.

Third of all, Azuma had failed.

The weight of that sentence was enormous. Azuma was one of the greatest warriors to have ever appeared in this frozen land. Yet he had been defeated by Knightwalker – no – Erza Scarlet, as Silver now knew. It was true, though, that even Azuma was not powerful enough to defeat a slew of magically trained individuals such as those who had burst from the floor. Azuma had been a fool to fall for Erza's tricky plan. No doubt the spy would not be pleased. Silver couldn't risk losing the one connection he had to the inner workings of the court. Silver had to find a way to incapacitate Laxus before the spy got mad.

Speaking of the mysterious cloaked figure, however, Silver still had no idea of his identity. It had been a condition of his, and the hooded cloak that he wore seemed to be on whenever any other person was around. His room was given the utmost privacy and even the servants that were sent to deliver food and wake him up had never seen his face. It was rumored that he had horns in the shape of lightning bolts, although Silver hadn't heard of anyone that grew natural horns, in the shape of lightning bolts no less.

But they were all just rumors. Silver would very well like to know the spy's identity. He did not have anything over him at all, and it made him uneasy. Although the cloaked man did seem like he was sincere about his interests, Silver wanted to be able to expose him in the event that Makarov somehow found out secrets about the courts of Skyrrgia (not that Silver took care to expose his secrets to _anyone_).

The problem was, was that Silver was sure that the spy would really not appreciate finding out if the king set his _own _spy on the spy. Even the sentence was somewhat confusing him. But with his disappearance, Silver could not help but be worried. If he wasn't lying about being in Faera, who knew what he was doing!

But there was no time to think about this matter. Deliora was the greater crisis.

It was time Silver paid a visit to the infirmary again – something he seemed to do a lot nowadays.

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The silence in the room was stifling. They'd literally been waiting here for over five minutes for something to happen, like the courtier to return bearing news of King Makarov's decision as to how to deal with the event.

In fact, the incident seemed almost surreal. Who would've thought that some random guy with strangely blocky afro-like hair would wreck the ballroom during an engagement party, drain Laxus' magic power to knock him out, fight Erza in a one-on-one that ended up in his retreat, and then trap the rest of the magical company under the floor? Certainly no sane person.

Besides, most of the tension was erupting from the two currently glaring teens, magic twitching on their fingers. Fire danced on Natsu's palm while Gray's glare was so hard that frost was beginning to form on where his eye-daggers were pointed, also known as Natsu's shoes. But neither of them dared to move a single muscle, because Erza had her eye trained on both of them.

Just as the cold on one side of the room and the heat on the other became almost unbearable, Makarov himself finally came striding into the wreckage. At once, the magic was dispelled and the two abruptly turned away.

"What do we have here?" muttered Makarov, surveying the mess. "Well, it does seem like the court owes the Locksers a new ballroom, if this was not set up."

"O-Of course not, King Makarov. But really, we're just planning to build a new one," Lord Lockser stammered out.

Makarov shrugged. Well, if they didn't need money, he had no real wish to give it. "Now, where's my grandson? Laxus?"

The lightning dragonslayer stepped forward. Although his exhaustion from being drained clearly showed on his face, his mind was still working faster than his element. "Do you know who did this? I was out for most of it, so I couldn't say much, but Erza and the others…" he let his sentence trail off.

"Azuma," Erza muttered. To most of the people in the room, the name meant nothing. But Makarov knew exactly who he was and who that particular man worked for.

"Silver," said Makarov. "What for?"

Erza gestured at Laxus. "He seemed to be asking to retrieve Laxus' body after he was turned unconscious."

The king raised an eyebrow. "They want Laxus."

"Yes. Although the intentions were not clear, I believe it may be an attempt to set up a hostage situation."

Fried raised a hand. "I agree with Knightwalker, King Makarov."

Laxus' eyes narrowed. "I just remembered…where were you a while ago, anyways? Bixlow and I looked everywhere for you."

"In my room," Fried replied calmly, albeit a little confused as to why his idol was questioning him so fiercely.

"We knocked," informed Bixlow.

"I guess I didn't hear it."

"I guess not," mumbled Laxus, still pondering.

Makarov cleared his throat. "Onto important matters…security will be boosted, for sure. I'm sure you'll hate this, but Laxus, you will need your own personal guard with you at all times, even during your sleep. We can't risk a hostage situation happening, you hear me?"

Laxus rolled his eyes. "I'm–"

"–strong enough to fight on your own, I know. But if we take any chances, we're done for."

"Pah," spat Laxus, but obediently didn't press on the matter.

"You may go back to your houses. Erza, could you come to the courtroom in a little bit?" Makarov asked, a little weary.

Erza nodded and the crowd dispersed.

Juvia's mind was still whirling. First of all, the cat was out of the bag. Gray knew. Even though she knew there were much more serious matters at hand such as the Crown Prince's almost-abduction, her mind could not help but ponder and pause on that one point.

Damn.

She had to find Gray. Damn!

"Gray!" she called, abandoning her parents and pushing through Lucy, Natsu, and Mirajane. "Gray!"

His dark head of hair turned around as his natural scowl relaxed into a blank expression. Gray quirked an eyebrow as Juvia came rushing over to him, but didn't say anything.

"So…" She twiddled her thumbs and looked down shyly.

"What is it?" Gray asked, almost completely flatly, voice only inflecting slightly on the second syllable. "What do you want from me?" He sounded tired. Too tired for someone who hadn't even helped out in the fight…

Juvia wasn't sure what she had wanted to say. If she was apologizing, maybe she would be inferring that Gray actually cared. If she didn't say anything, she'd look like an awkward idiot. "Um, why is Gray so tired sounding?" _Good one, Juvia. Now he just thinks you're a creepy stalker who monitors his health. _

"I am?" Gray sounded surprised. Then, he looked as if a bolt of lightning had hit him in between his eyes. "Azuma," he muttered. "It was the shock."

"Azuma?" Juvia wondered. "Does Gray know Azuma?"

"Ah…yeah," he answered absentmindedly. "Wait, please ignore me."

Too late. Juvia was already curious. "How does Gray know him?"

"When I was…little," he replied vaguely. "I saw him around." He was still reeling from the engagement party and his mind must not have been working properly, because when he realized what he said, he nearly bolted all the way from the palace to his home. "Shit."

"Gray lived in Skyrrgia?" The water woman was not as shocked as she probably should have been, instead looking excited at the fact she was learning more about her favorite person.

With that, Gray realized where Juvia's inquisitiveness stemmed from and his face abruptly darkened. "Why don't you tell me about your so-called _engagement _first?"

"A-Ah, that…" Juvia nervously scratched her head. "About that…"

Gray tapped his foot.

"Juvia guesses she just forgot to tell Gray...it wasn't much of a choice, you see. Juvia is in an arranged marriage." She hated how her throat got stuck when she started to form the words "but I love you". He probably knew, yet her cowardice was relentless. It ate her up.

Gray's foot-tapping stopped. "You serious?"

"Y-Yeah."

Something bloomed on his face, Juvia wasn't sure what, but it made her fluttery and happy until he turned on his heel abruptly and strode away.

"I see. Stop by the shop if you need new shoes." With that, he was gone. Juvia wasn't even sure if she'd just been hallucinating.

"Juvia!" called her father. "Let's go. This ballroom is wrecked and you could get hurt." In a fit of uncharacteristic anger, Juvia smashed a small tendril of water onto the floor. She was angry…but she didn't know why. Was it because Gray was so hard to read?

She calmed her mind. Water. Smooth, flowing, unhurried water. That was who she needed to be right now. "Coming, Father!" She ran after her family, following them into the hallway and up the stairs into the undamaged section of the house.

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Erza travelled to the courtroom on her own two feet. Each step she took, people from noble birth looked up and stared. After all, she was clad in armor and they recognized her as Knightwalker, even if her real identity was unknown by most likely everyone. Most people didn't even know that an Erza Scarlet existed, even though technically Knightwalker did not exist in the record books.

"King Makarov," she greeted, and sank into a respected one-knee kneel.

Makarov sighed, wrinkle lines getting more pronounced. "Thank you, Knightwalker…no…Erza. Thank you for saving my son."

She smiled and nodded. "You're welcome."

Then her face tightened.

Security would need to be upped.

"Please let me be your son's personal guard."

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**written_by**


	12. Chapter 12

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail  
**title: **impossibilities  
**summary: **when everything goes wrong, it means that everything's going right for the other side  
**dedication: **actually the two people who started the moist party w/me cause they deserve the love *rains hearts*  
**notes: **i have a 2k tomorrow on the erg why must monday be land day *runs around screaming* *runs into sunset* ouch. okay THEN im doing april nanowrimo camp and instead of 50k im gunna gun for 30k since i don't have time and spring break crew training camp okay and it's gunna be like overpopulation something-cides 'kay cool this chapter IS SO FILLER WTF blah balh life kind of changes sometimes also i'm arting all the time and blistering from goddamn crew why is sculling so blister? ? enjohy

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Finally, some good news. Silver was getting tired of bad news.

In fact, he'd nearly forgotten that he sent Minerva out a few days ago in order to counter the whirlwind of destruction set by Knightwalker and Mystogan - no - Erza Scarlet and Jellal Fernandes. They were back to fighting on the halfway point. Although Deliora had not been caught yet, the war could be won...and once it was won, the lowly peasants who fought to their deaths could go back to their jobs, stabilizing the economy and therefore boosting Skyrrgia's status as a world power. Deliora would cower beneath the might.

Content for once, Silver leaned back in his chair and thought about his family. At once, his anger returned. She had been cheating on him, he knew it...that icy white hair. It didn't come either of them! But it was too hard to find the man who'd done it. At least a quarter of his country had white hair, and he wasn't going to go about killing every man. No, he wanted to know who it was. How could she have done it? He had always suspected, but never said, and ten years later, she was dead, and all he had left were two preteen boys and a rebellious teenage girl on his hands.

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Erza _did _get breaks as Laxus' personal guard. They had shifts. So on her break, she went and visited Lord Dragneel.

"Hello, Lord Dragneel," she greeted. "Sorry to bother you, but I have a few questions I'd like to ask." Her first two victims had been Evergreen and Laxus, so she would lay off the Raijinshuu. After all, if Laxus was innocent, what were the chances that the other three weren't? They literally worshipped him. Evergreen was innocent, and Laxus had been with Bixlow the night of the intrusion. Fried wasn't a big deal, he was always with the tribe, doing whatever Laxus did.

Lord Dragneel smiled warmly, canines poking out from beneath his upper lip. His red hair was spiked up in a carefully gelled up hairstyle that closely resembled Natsu's. "Ask away, Lady Scarlet. I'd be glad to answer any questions you have." Erza's mind fired into overdrive. Was his friendliness a cover? Was he lying? Did he say that to sound more suspicious so he'd be less suspicious or the other way around? Reverse psychology sucked.

"Where were you on the night of May fifteenth?" asked Erza, eyes serious.

Lord Dragneel's face twisted into a thinking expression. Although he was plenty more smart than his idiotic happy-go-lucky son, his own wife was incredibly intelligent, and, well, Natsu's dumb genes had to come from somewhere. "What is that, cinco de mayo?"

Erza resisted the urge to rearrange the topography of his face. She had no time for fools. "No, what are you? An idiot?"

"My wife calls me that." The lord shrugged happily. "It's cute."

"_No_, the point is, do you remember where you were?"

"Let me check my calendar."

A few minutes later, he returned, with his thinking expression firmly in place. "I'm not sure what time you are talking about, but around seven, I went to the Heartphilia's for dinner with the twerp and his lovely fiancee. And then I got home at nine thirty and went to sleep. Then I woke up on the sixteenth of May!"

"Can you prove that you were sleeping at around midnight?" Erza asked.

Lord Dragneel flushed. "Well, about that..."

The red haired warrior leaned in. "...yes?"

"...I wasn't _actually _sleeping. You could probably ask my wife, but, um, it'd be kind of embarrassing." Lord Dragneel coughed, turning his face away.

Erza was never really good with this subject. Flushing crimson, she backed away. "Ah, so sorry to intrude upon your privacy...GOODBYE!" With that, she hastily fled and did not look back until she heard the door slam. "Jeez," she muttered. She had never suspected him, but that was a little too much information. What a waste of her time.

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Deliora sat with his back against the wall of a bookshelf. He was in a small local library in Skyrrgia, the last place they would expect him to go. Without his mask on, he looked like a normal citizen of Skyrrgia. Ever since he was little, he'd been blessed with average looks (except his shockingly white hair, but surprisingly a lot of people in Skyrrgia owned it), average height, and average personality...until that "average" personality turned into a murderous one.

He resented being average. He resented Silver, too, for snatching Ur from her lovely hometown, where she attended magic school, and he attended normal school because average people did not know magic, and he was the boy who worked as a servant for money in her home. Deliora did not care about Ur, per say, but the principal of the magic school certainly did. She was his brightest student, and his only chance for recognition. With Silver's entrance into the scene, her talent would be gone. Wasted. Spent on learning how to use a fan and not how to create one of ice instead.

If there was something he was not average at, it was skinning and preparing meat for Ur's family at dinnertime. He knew how to kill - he knew how to kill animals, and humans were just that. Dead humans with their skin on looked wrong...unprepared...raw, even. But the stupid now-king of Skyrrgia had ruined his lovely plan. Before he could skin the fair-skinned woman, they had found him and jailed him.

What had the principal said? Kill her or bring her back. Leave the name untarnished or brightened. And on that four year span he spent planning how to kill her, more than a hundred others had paid a price for his murderous intent. What did the government think? Sixty individuals? Clearly they hadn't found the rest of the rotting flesh, skin gone from the tissue.

It wasn't so much that he enjoyed killing as it was necessary.

And he did definitely get more money than he could ever hope to earn by working at an average job from that man for killing the queen of the country. It was a prestigious school after all. His inheritance and running of the school made the principal a very, very rich man, accustomed to getting what he wanted, no matter the price. That was where Deliora considered himself the same as the man, yet different. They both knew what they wanted, and got it. But whereas Deliora acted himself, the principal paid for others to do it. Being average came with a price.

He hadn't known that all of it would end him in jail for ten years until he broke out, and then strip him of all his known assets (lucky for him, he was paid mostly in cash, and his storage place for over half of his money was never found). Now that he was out, he wasn't planning to go back in. The cursed woman had spent her last living breaths mustering up her strength to call the entire guard force, which quickly surrounded him with ice spells. He didn't know magic, which gave him nothing but a disadvantage.

But now...even the Seven Kin of Purgatory could not defeat him. He had yet to meet a single man that Silver sent after him who could chain him down. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself, but Deliora liked to think of himself as the most powerful man in Skyrrgia.

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The peasants and foot soldiers were so weak Jellal didn't even have to use his magic. His staves and staffs were enough. One swing of his longest staff and the ten men around him would fall, each dropping their weak metal swords. Wood could be stronger than iron!

"That was my best friend!" a woman snarled, kicking a dead man's hand with his foot. "And you just killed him, you dirty lying cheat of a man."

Jellal knew of nothing he had done to deserve such a phrase except fight, which was generally what one should do in midst of a battlefield. "Sorry miss, it's a battlefield out here. You can either retreat or die."

With a growl as eerie as a wolf, she leapt at him, thrusting her dagger forward. It was no use, and Jellal's staff connected cleanly with her ribs. He winced as they cracked; he hated listening to the sound of death, although it seemed to surround him all the time.

"Fuck...you," she cursed. "I hope you and your little illicit lover die." Wait. Illicit lover? What?

How had Skyrrgia found out about Erza and him before Faera - and how did they even find out in the first place?

He knelt down and pinned the woman against the ground, surrounded by dead bodies and people fighting to the death. "Who are you talking about?"

"Come on, everyone who knows anything in Skyrrgia knows about it by now. You, Mystogan - no, Jellal Fernandez, are having secret trysts with Erza Scarlet, who disguises herself as Knightwalker! What a whore," she sneered.

Jellal's pupils dilated and he felt his breath get heavy. Forget that she called the woman he loved a whore. Forget that they were on a battlefield. They _knew_. And they had the power to make or break his future just by yelling it out on this plain of fertile land. With a high-pitched yell, he smashed his fist into the side of the opponent's now-demolished head and leaped up, ready to kill them all so that they wouldn't breathe a single word.

Sure, he was safe at home. Skyrrgian newspaper and immigrants, especially any type of Skyrrgian influence was not allowed in Faera anymore. But on this piece of land, anyone could say anything! Besides, he was supposed to be fighting anyways. He might not like bloodshed, but...this was all for the good, wasn't it?

Suddenly, he came face with a familiar woman.

"Shacking up with that red-haired bitch now, huh?" she asked, hips swaying as she approached him, the line of soldiers parting for her demonic presence. "I didn't expect you to fall that low...Fernandez."

"Shut up, Minerva. Never speak like that about her again!" Jellal threatened, crossing his arms.

Minerva smirked. "It's too late, Fernandez. The whole of Skyrrgia's talking about her like that. In fact, they're talking about you like that too. Never woulda thought that this could happen, hm?"

"Who was it," Jellal asked, suddenly weary. "Who found out?"

"A little bird," Minerva sneered. "Maybe you aren't as safe as you think you are." Jellal glared. "Now, _Mystogan_, let's fight."

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"Gajeel! How was the engagement party?" Levy squealed, swinging her arms as he easily lifted her up off the ground.

Gajeel sighed deeply. "A disaster. It couldn't have gone any worser."

"_Worse_," corrected Levy.

His speech got all distorted when he was agitated. "Whatever. Azuma from Skyrrgia attacked an' tried ta make away with the Prince. The whole thing's wrecked now, covered with trees and stuff. Damnit, Shrimp! I don't care much for the engagement, yanno, but the water woman deserved somethin' better!"

Levy tried not to feel jealousy washing up in her chest. Juvia had known Gajeel for so much longer, it was crazy. She comforted him. "Aw, at least it'll buy you another week's worth of time. Lord Lockser's sure not to want the last impression of the engagement to be this!"

"Yer smart," he commented, like he did almost every day.

"Anyways, Gajeel, I've got a plan, and it might actually work." '_If Juvia doesn't already have someone she's interested in_,' Levy thought to herself. "The only way for the parents to break the engagement is if someone even better than you comes along, or if an even better woman for you comes along. And seeing as the latter is totally not okay, I think you should try and set up Juvia and Prince Laxus."

Gajeel's eyes nearly flew out of his head. "W-What're ya saying?! Juvia and the _Prince_?"

"Who else could be better than a noble? You're the only non-engaged noble that's this high up in the ranks," Levy snapped.

"I guess ya don't know this yet, but Juvia has her sights set on this shoemaker named Gray. I hear his shop is just nex'ta yer library here."

"Gray from Ice Make: Shoes?" Levy gasped. "He moved here several years ago from Skyrrgia with his brother and sister and uses Ice Make magic."

The iron dragonslayer grunted. "Huh, wanna fight him."

"That's the least of our worries, Gajeel! How do we split you two up without another engagement happening? We could...elope," Levy suggested.

Gajeel thought about it. "That's Plan Z. C'mon, I already told ya. Yer smart. Let's think of Plans A to Y."

Levy pouted. "Gajeel!"

"It's not hopeless yet," Gajeel promised. "Yer my shorty and I ain't letting ya go!"

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tiny end of chapter omake:

"Wendy, yer still sick? Lemme sing a song for you."

"N-No!" cried the sky dragonslayer weakly. She coughed a couple times.

"Shooby doo bah," Gajeel began.

Wendy fainted.

"W-Wendy!"

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_written_by_


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